Hermione's Boggart
by embirsiphonelilathia
Summary: Boggarts. Today it was boggarts and everyone thought they'd know exactly what Hermione would see they were wrong though, so very, very wrong.
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER 1**

Hogwarts felt like a different place that year. It seemed like everyone was changing and growing up, everyone but her. She felt like her peers were leaving her behind. Her dorm-mates had already started talking about boys and makeup. Most of the Gryffindor boys had already started to notice the other girls and she cringed at the thought of being the only one left behind in that respect. It wasn't that she wanted attention from them, it would just be nice to be recognized as a girl. It wasn't like she didn't have the necessary bits. She scoffed at herself and turned the corner.

She looked up and peered around the hall. It was full of giggling girls and strutting boys. Did they give out shots and she wasn't informed? She couldn't help but notice people seemed to look past her, past the fact that she was there and willing to talk to them. She sighed wearily and ducked into an abandoned classroom on this floor.

Professor McGonagall had managed to get her one. Hermione just couldn't see going through this year without one. It was horribly devastating to imagine not being able to take all the classes she could and the professor had helped to ease her nerves by getting her a time-turner. She was the only person in Hogwarts history that had ever been given one to use. Well that she knew of, she was definitely the only muggleborn though. She was proud of the fact that she was so trusted by her professors. She pulled it from her robes and gave it a few quick turns.

The classroom spun around her as time traveled back. She never noticed the blue eyes that were had seen her disappear, she was too set on making sure the time-turner would stop when it was suppose to. When the world stopped spinning Hermione gained her footing and peered around the room. '_Good it's empty_.' She thought before peering out the door. ' _Perfect, everyone's still in class then._' She rushed off to her the Defense room but arrived as the 5th year class was leaving.

She spotted the Weasley twins laughing along with Lee Jordan and some of the girls from their year. She felt a stab of jealousy as she watched the girls fawn over Fred and George like they walked on water. She scowled at the smile that Fred sent back to the vapid little witches. No one had ever looked at her that way. Wasn't she good enough or was she destined to fail at life and only succeed where it didn't matter in the long run? She knew that her studies were important but she couldn't imagine how much they'd help when she would end up living a lonely life. She shook her head and moved into the classroom and took her seat and started to think over her upcoming lesson.

Boggarts. Today it was boggarts and everyone thought they'd know exactly what Hermione would see they were wrong though, so very, very wrong. Hermione knew she was expected to be the smart one, the one who made the wise choices, the one who had to say no when others wanted to have fun. It's true she loved her books almost like children, but like every parent she wanted a break sometimes. No one believed her though no one could ever see that she can be fun, she can laugh and make jokes after all it wasn't her fault she had a rather dry sense of humor, that she wants a life outside of school work. Her real fear is that no one would ever see her as anything more. She walked into the empty defense class and took her seat placing her books, parchment, and quill in just the right places. Her head jerked up when she heard a door close and she smiles as she saw Professor Lupin coming down the stairs from his office.

"Hello Hermione, how are you today?" He asked sitting on his own desk in front of her.

"I'm alright Professor just a little nervous is all."

Professor Lupin chuckled and leaned back onto his hands, "Yes I imagine most students are today. Boggarts are nasty business but one must face their fears."

With a slight smile she leaned forward "I'm worried to face mine but I'm also worried for Harry. I can't imagine what his may be and I don't know if I want too really."

"Yes I can see most people would worry about his particular boggart, but don't worry it's never real, what your seeing is only from your imagination, remember that and you'll do just fine." He placed a hand on her shoulder giving it an affectionate squeeze before turning away and heading to the rattling wardrobe in the front of the room, smiling as students began filing in.

Harry and Ron sat in the desk next to hers turning to smile and say 'Hullo' before pulling out there materials and turning forward. Hermione turned to her left when someone came in last minute and plopped down next to her only to find Malfoy sneering and moving his chair further away.

"Scared Granger?" he asked a malicious smile on his face.

Hermione scoffed "You wish Malfoy. I'm merely nervous, If I'm scared for anyone it's the class, when your boggart becomes even more hideous than you already are."

Harry and Ron sniggered and she could hear a distinct snort, which quickly became a cough, from Professor Lupin's direction.

"Why don't you learn how to speak to your betters before you address me Granger!" He snarled before he turned away from her, crossing his arms and pouting childishly. She couldn't help but smirk; she had gotten one better on Malfoy. Life was good at that moment.

Professor Lupin cleared his throat, "Alright everyone put your things away and get into a line."

The next few minutes were filled with people packing their things up and moving off to the side and forming a line. Professor Lupin flicked his wand and vanished the desks, allowing the students to move forward. Hermione stood in the group watching her classmates face the boggart, seeing Professor Snape in a dress, an unraveling mummy, a spider on skates and many more rather funny things. Soon it was her turn and she stepped forward hearing Malfoy making jokes about what her Boggart would be. Professor Lupin gave her an encouraging smile. She managed to give him a tight smile in return as she walked forward. Her eyes widened and dread washed through as she watched in horror. The boggart began to shift and move, splitting off into two separate masses. She choked on the air she hadn't even inhaled when the blobs began to take shape. Red hair. '_No!_' Freckled skin. '_No, no, no!_' Near identical faces. '_No! Please no!_' The Weasley Twins. _Oh Goddess please no! _She thought as she looked at her fear in dread.

"Look at that Fred," George said as he sidled towards her, deftly twirling a wand between his fingers. "Gryffindor's resident Know-It-All."

Fred laughed clapping his brother on the back before turning to her with a sneer. "Yes, would you look at her, so boring and bookish. I'd bet my broom that she'll die alone. No one around to hear the next 'amazing' fact from her lips."

George chuckled and began to circle her shaking form, running his hand across her shoulder. "Too right she will. Everyone knows she isn't any fun, isn't that right Hermione? You're not any fun at all."

Hermione whimpered as the words they spoke struck home in her heart. They were right, she didn't have many friends and even Harry and Ron would tease her. Professor Lupin moved forward to help her but she lifted a shaky hand to stop him "No professor, please let me do this." She raised her wand with a trembling hand and opened her mouth for the spell.

"Sure you wanna do that Granger? We can help, you know? Make you popular for once, make everyone like you. No more taunting and teasing. Of course, you could say the spell and then you'll be like this forever, the boring one, the one who isn't any fun and is only good for homework help." Fred wound an arm around her shoulder whispering in her ear "Don't you want people to like you?" He paused and she shivered as his breathy chuckle washed over her cheek. "No, I forgot you only love your books, you only love your knowledge. Everyone knows that. You can't love anyone else but your books and you never will. After all, who will want the gryffindor with bucked teeth, frizzy hair and a back that hunched from all the books she carries? Who wants a girl who isn't any fun?"

George leaned towards her whispering in her other ear; "You know, maybe you're beyond help. I can't imagine anyone ever loving you, no ones going to kiss you and no one is ever going to be mad enough to marry you." He leaned away chuckling.

"Ugly."

"Boring."

"Annoying."

"Alone." They taunted as the circled her like vultures to the carcass.

"Hermione do the spell!" Harry yelled to her.

"Riddikulus! Riddikulus!" she shouted.

The twins laughed "Not good enough Granger." They taunted her together.

"Riddikulus Dammit!" She raised her wand pushing away her emotions and set her feet "You're wrong, I know you're wrong and I don't care what you think! RIDDIKULUS!" The boggarts yelped, turning into a mass of multicolored laughing bubbles. Hermione fell to her knees and even Malfoy was too shocked to say anything. Professor Lupin rushed forward and wrapped an arm around her and led her to his chair.

"Good job Hermione, ten points to Gryffindor." He whispered before handing her a piece of chocolate and moving away. She smiled lightly at his back, she was proud she had overcome the boggart.

Hermione looked to Harry and giving him a trembling grin. "You can do it." she whispered. She watched Harry smile at her before stepping up to the boggart with confidence he hadn't shown before. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Professor Lupin lunge forward as the Boggart began to take shape. Hermione saw a dementor rush forward at Harry before it stopped and shifted to a bright silver orb. Hermione's eyes widened '_Why would he be afraid of the moon that makes no sense.'_ she thought. Professor Lupin banished the Boggart before dismissing the class and asking Hermione to stay behind. Hermione waved Harry and Ron off when they asked if they should wait.

Harry walked over and giving her a hug, "You know that isn't true, right Hermione? I don't think that, you were my first real friend here." He whispered in her hair and pulled away smiling.

"Thank you Harry, you were mine too." She said with a smile.

Harry said farewell and left while Professor Lupin walked over and sat on his desk turning the chair to face him. "You know I had the same problem growing up, not many people liked me I was always too studious, too smart...they treat you that way because they're jealous, because they want what you have. Trust me Hermione, it took some great friends of mine to teach me that, they accepted me just like Harry accepts you, more will come, don't you worry about that. Friends like that stick by you through everything." He gave her a reassuring smile and helped her out of the chair.

Hermione began to leave, her tears dried before she turned around and rushed back to Professor Lupin throwing her arms around the professor, hugging him tightly. Professor Lupin, for his own part, was shocked but embraced the young girl lightly, savoring the human contact as tears formed in his eyes. She smiled up at him and raced out of the room call a 'thank you' back to him.

RLRLRLRLRLRL

He smiled at the retreating back of such an amazing young woman. She was only fourteen and was already overcoming some of life's hardest struggles. It was good to know that Harry had such a wonderful friend.

'_Harry.' _That was a name he had thought of often in his self imposed exile. He knew he should have visited him at his relatives, he should have been there for him. The cards weren't in his favor though; the ministry had banished him from Harry's presence, claiming one so young should not be allowed near their savior unsupervised. He would make up for that now though, he'd start tomorrow.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Hermione had spent the better part of a week avoiding curious gazes and '_The Weasley Twins, Yes they deserved capital letters'_ She thought '_Only those two could make being twins seem copyrighted'._ She spent the better part of a week eating in the kitchens with Harry as her only company and lying in her dorm bed at night studying. Sometime she would just lie on her back staring at the enchanted ceiling of her bed; curtains drawn closed as she contemplated her boggart and what it could mean for her. She knew it'd be something like that but she could never have fathomed the Weasley Twins appearing before her that day. _It makes sense though really, they're the most popular Gryffindors; even the Slytherins laugh at their pranks. _She rolled over and sighed, feeling her stomach twinge in hunger. She pulled herself out of bed quickly tying up her hair and sliding her wand just before the elastic. She groped around before she smiled and pulled on her pajama bottoms and slippers. She glanced at the clock, midnight. She grinned at the clock face; the common room should be empty then.

She was halfway to the portrait when she heard someone fall down the boy's steps; she immediately turned and rushed over there in the near dark. She knelt next to the figure groping around for a second before finding his head and placing it in her lap.

"Are you alright?" she asked whoever it was and ran a hand through the shaggy hair she could feel at her fingertips.

The boy groaned and wondered how he got into such a nice lap and in so much pain.

"Bugger! You alright mate?" A voice called and hurried steps coming down the stairs.

Another groan from the boy before he opened his mouth cursing loudly, "Bloody hell, Yeah I'm fine, I've found myself in a rather nice lap though." He said with a chuckle.

Hermione blushed, thanking the dark, "Language boys." She chastised half-heartedly, She pulled her wand from her hair and whispered _Lumos, _gasping when she saw Fred. "Oh Merlin! Fred are you sure you're alright? You have a bruise on your cheek." She lightly ran her fingers over his face checking for more injuries.

Fred closed his eyes thankful her hands were only placing the soft touches on his face, "Mmmm, well I've been be-" He stopped talking a look of realization pulling across his face. "Wait! How'd you know I was Fred, Granger?"

Hermione blushed again and cleared her throat, "Well you see I hated not knowing how to tell you two apart so I've learned how...."

"Is that right Granger? Now the next question is if _I_ had fallen down like that would you be so worried for me?" George asked joining them with Lee in tow.

Hermione glared, "Of course I would, you great git! Probably the only way I wouldn't have cared is if he fell down trying to get up the girls stairs."

Lee smirked and looked down at Fred, who seemed to have drifted off as Hermione's small fingers worked a soothing pattern on his face, he knew he was halfway asleep. "You comfy there Fred?" he asked nudging Fred's leg with his foot.

"Course I am. Not everyday you got a cute little bird fawning over you." He said with a grin.

Blushing again Hermione cursed and stilled her hands. "Sorry about that, you should be alright though. I could only find the bruise on your cheek."

George chuckled, "Well not like you could inspect anywhere else while we're standing here now could you Granger?" He smiled as Hermione's cheeks turned a deep red color and she moved further away from Fred.

Fred frowned and glared up at Lee and George. "Thanks you prats!" he said with a playful growl as he climbed up on his feet holding his hand out to Hermione "I was enjoying the fawning, yah know."

Hermione took Fred's hand and let him pull her up onto her feet. She looked at the boys raising an eyebrow, "And where are you off too?" This was met with sheepish smiles and cleared throats.

"Well yah see-"

"The thing is-"

"How do you do that with your eyebrow?"

"SHUT IT, LEE!" The twins intoned together

Hermione tapped her foot and placed her wand back in her hair. "I'm waiting boys..."

"Now see here," Fred said "You really don't want to know what we were about to do, also what are _YOU_ doing out of bed and sneaking out?"

George grinned like a Cheshire Cat, "Yes Hermione, what _ARE_ you doing?"

Hermione merely glared at the boys, "That wasn't an answer Fred Weasley and if you must know I was going to the kitchens to get a bite to eat."

Three devilish grins were what she got in response. "S'at right? Well we were just on way there we'll join you." Fred slung his arm around her waist as George did the same to her shoulders. "Then you can explain why you've been avoiding us." Hermione froze but they ushered her out the portrait.

Lee pulled out a bit of parchment and was staring at it as the walked out. "Safe for awhile, Filch is on the Seventh Floor...." He trailed off looking at the twins. "Oi! Why do you guys get to cling to the cute little bird?"

Hermione blushed crimson and ducked her head and the Weasley twins chuckled and tightened their grip. "Cause we knew her first." they intoned together leading the ways to the kitchens.

HGHGHGHGHG

Hermione could feel the heat coming from the twins' bodies as they were pressed against the wall, hiding from Professor Snape. He had come out of no where. Lee had only been able to give them ten seconds to hide before Snape was on them. Now she was jammed into an alcove with three boys squishing her against the stone wall.

Fred was giving her an apologetic glance as they watched the map. Hermione thanked the lucky stars that a rather heavy tapestry hid this alcove. She could hear George mumble something and flick his wand in a tight circle at the tapestry and then doing the same with the wand above them. She shot him a questioning look and he shook his hand and brought a finger to his lips.

Hermione's eyes were glued to what looked to be a map. She waited with baited breath as Snape's dot moved towards them slowly before stopping abruptly and turning away and walking down the hall. The air was tense until the Professor turned the corner. With a collective sigh they made there way out into the hallway and the twins' arms were around her immediately. They looked at her with large grins and a glint in their eyes.

"So Granger, Was this your first time? Hiding from Professor Snape that is?" George asked giving her shoulder a squeeze and a cheeky wink.

Hermione's face flushed and she smirked up at the boy, "No actually, I'm not a scared little girl and I've done my fair share of rule breaking. I'm just not caught." With that sentiment she flounced off to Lee and began to question him about the piece of parchment in his hands.

They talked quietly, faces and arms animated as they discussed the different charms and transfiguration that would be needed to create the Marauders map. The smile never left her face as she walked and talked with Lee Jordan. She had a feeling she had underestimated these three boys.

FWFWFWFWFW

Fred watched with a scowl on his face and Hermione walked away from them, he turned and glared at George. His brother raised his arms in defeat and smiled sheepishly. Fred just looked away but slung his arm around his brother's shoulder. He wasn't mad at George; just a bit irritated that he had made Hermione leave his grip.

He wasn't sure what it was about the girl, but there was something, this odd spark that would enthrall him for ages as she scolded, laughed, scowled and even cried. She had this way about her and he could remember many times that feeling of confusion that would wash over him when she wouldn't react the way he thought she would. She never said the expected but her actions were predictable. He had spent the better part of two weeks with George identifying the different nuances in her body language.

George had found her just as fascinating but it didn't seem to extend to the areas that Fred's fascination did. For instance Fred could spend at least an hour talking about how her hair was the most perfect hair he had ever seen. He had even started on her lips once but George had given him a funny look and Fred has stopped his tirade before he embarrassed himself further.

It was frustrating not knowing how or why or even when this fascination for this small girl had started. It could have been any number of instances and Fred thought that maybe it was better than he couldn't pin point this. '_Because if I don't know that, it isn't really real._' He thought as he glared at Lee's arm that was now slung over Hermione's shoulder. She was smiling that smile that he loved. It always lit across her face when she was happy. He'd only seen that smile directed at him twice, and that wasn't nearly enough. Now Lee was getting that smile for the past ten minutes as they wound their way to the dungeons outside of Hufflepuff common room.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

They arrived at the kitchens and Hermione moved forward to tickle the pear. Stepping swiftly inside, she looked around the quiet kitchen, most of the Elves had retired for the night, but some were working on a few things for the morning's breakfast. She stepped forward immediately finding a small elf in a crimson cashmere terry clothe like toga. The little elf beamed and moved forward wrapping it's little arms around Hermione's legs.

"Eddion!" Hermione cried, "It's wonderful to see you. I'm sorry I haven't been by sooner but what with classes, I've been ever so busy." She knelt down and hugged the elf.

"Lady Mione!" He cried causing the others Elves to turn and wave with beaming smiles, "What can Eddion do for you today?" The elf asked moving her to the tables leaving three stunned boys to follow her.

Hermione sat down and smiled at Eddion, "Eddion these are my friends, Fred, George and Lee. I was hoping for a glass of that bubbly drink you make and the usual mess I get."

Eddion smiled and nodded, "What would the sirs like?"

Fred cleared his dazed look; "Whatever Hermione gets is fine for all of us, and a pitcher of pumpkin juice."

Eddion nodded and wandered off. Hermione leaned forward place her elbows on the table and her head in her hands and giggled. "You all look like you've been dazzled by a veela."

Fred chuckled and Hermione beamed at him while the other boys looked at her strangely.

"What?" Hermione asked a bit defensively.

"Oh many things Granger, such as, how do you know where the kitchens are? What's with the obvious love the Elves have for you? And last but not least why are you avoiding us?" George asked.

"Yeah I've been trying to track you down for ages so you could help me find a book for a term project in potions." Lee said, "Madame Pince doesn't know where it is and said you may have checked it out."

Eddion came back with a tray laden with sliced turkey, a gravy boat and steaming bowl of rice, bread rolls and about a dozen different kinds of candies for them to share. He set down the tray then levitated the pitcher and four bubbly glasses of a funny blue liquid. Hermione leaned forward placing a kiss on Eddion's head before smiling at him. "This all looks fantastic, thank you Eddy." She gently tweaked the elf's ear and Eddion blushed and scuffled off to join the other elves.

The boys looked at all the food and smiled. They all reached for the plates and poured out some juice grabbing the funny drinks as well, piling pieces of turkey and rice onto their plates. Hermione grabbed her own plate placing her own portion of rice and turkey on it before pouring gravy over top. "It's good to know I have excellent taste in food." she took a bite and savored the taste of the slightly dry turkey, just the way she liked it. The boys nodded and Fred motioned for her to answer the questions.

"Well the kitchens and the question of the Elves are really one in the same. During my first year I found Eddion wandering about the halls, lost see then he was just a tiny little thing not more than a few months old really. The aging of Elves is rather fascinating you see they grow into maturity rather quickly-" George cleared his throat and gave her a pointed look and Lee gave her an indulgent grin. "Right, sorry about that. Well I picked up Eddion and searched everywhere I could think of for the kitchens, because that's all he could say really. 'Kitchens, pot, mum' He was rather adorable and then I finally bumped into that Cedric Diggory bloke, he's rather nice. Well he was on his way to the kitchens and showed me the way because Eddion wouldn't let me go. Well we got to the kitchens and the elves were so grateful I returned him home safely. Needless to say I've never wanted for anything at Hogwarts. They let me buy them gifts too. Like that cashmere cloth. They even used the colors to develop a hierarchy system of who has what job. Like Eddion's red means he's in charge of plating the food." Hermione beamed at the bewildered looks she received before taking a few more bites of food.

"You still didn't tell us why you were avoiding all of us." Fred pointed out and Hermione's cheeks turned a lovely shade of pink.

"Yes well I expected the whole school to know why so I never really bothered to tell you actually." Hermione said with a sheepish grin before taking a drink from her glass. Just as Fred was about to speak Hermione's ears became pointed and her eyes quite literally sparkled, she hiccuped and tiny blue bubbles left her mouth. The boys laughed before drinking there own with similar results.

"Wicked!" the boys intoned together.

"What is this stuff?" Lee asked

"Dunno really, Eddy calls it Elfish lixor, makes you a bit drunk like wine if you drink enough really." Hermione replied then sighed, "Listen I'm awfully sorry if my avoiding you has caused any offense or accidental pain from a rather nasty professor." She looked to Lee who smiled "It's just the other day in defense we went against boggarts, and well Fred and George were mine, the boggart said some awful things no matter how true they were. And I was just so embarrassed."

"S'alright Granger, we were just curious." Fred said as he pulled over a box of Bertie Botts and dumped them on the empty space between them all before eating one, "Mmm vanilla." Soon they were all eating and Hermione was discussing Lee's project with him as the twins watched Hermione. Soon she was yawning and the table was cleared away. Hermione waved to the elves calling out a farewell and heading through the portrait. Lee pulled out the parchment and they snuck back to the common room.

Fred threw himself onto his bed and stared up at the top of his four-poster. Hermione was such a brilliant girl and it seemed no one understood her. It wasn't really fair for her; he hated the things people would say when she wasn't around. She was always sweet and caring unless you upset her, and then she seemed rather scary. He honestly didn't know why she was friends with his tactless brother. He rather liked that she was so worried over him earlier when he had fell, he was going to kill Lee for ruining that moment for him. He sighed and turned towards his brother and best friend. They seemed to be thinking too.

"She never actually explained why she avoided us. Just said we were her boggarts." Fred said looking to his brother.

"I know… I don't understand why she'd be scared of us honestly, s'not like we've ever done anything to her really." George grimaced and began to speak again, "Well she has gotten on the bad end of some of traps but that was never on purpose."

"I'd never prank that girl on purpose! She's probably Avada me before I could blink" Fred exclaimed shaking his head.

Lee had been quiet so far but looked at the twins, "I don't think she's frightened of you exactly it must be something else, I mean she's Hermione Granger she could whip us all with her eyes closed, I'm sure of it."

Fred grinned, "That she could, I just wonder what's wrong with her is all, We haven't seen her like this since her first year."

George laughed slightly and the boys looked at him funny, "Ah, sorry, I was just thinking about what would happen to that troll if it had come across Hermione this year. It was rather funny to envision."

Fred and Lee chuckled, "Hmmm I can see it now, All that hair flying about while she gave the troll a stern talking to about being in the girls bathroom, then she'd offer to be it's friend and to help him find his way back to the forest." Fred said.

Lee grinned slyly at Fred; "The poor thing would be more besotted than you are Freddie!"

"OI! I'm not besotted with her, I mean yeah she's cute and wicked smart and she's got all that lively hair and she can hex like nothing you've ever seen and she's really swe-" Fred stopped talking as he noticed his brother and Lee grinning with suppressed laughter.

"No brother-mine, your not besotted at all, I'm terribly sorry we thought so." Fred blushed red and chucked his pillow at George.

"Shut-it." Fred said, "I say we asked one of the other thirdies to tell us what's going on with the little bird."

"Yeah but who?" George asked.

"Potter'll know, we'll just ask him tomorrow." Lee replied laying down, "Now I believe it is time for us to sleep gentlemen, pleasant dreams boys."

The boys went to sleep, each thinking about the little witch they had spent the night with. Fred was concerned and slightly embarrassed that he was caught out. Lee was concerned for a girl he always had this brotherly instinct for. George just wanted everyone to be happy and that included Granger, and he was going to make it happy even if it killed her.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter four

The boys woke up a bit earlier than usual, eager to start the day. They headed down to the third year dorms and barged in without knocking. They walked on tiptoes, careful to avoid making noise. They carefully drew back the curtain on each bed, holding back chuckles when they would find one of Gryffindor boys curled up with a teddy bear or drooling profusely onto their pillows. While they were moving to the final bed, George tripped, causing a loud THUNK to be heard and a groan of pain to drift into the room.

"Oi! George!" Fred whispered, "What happened to being so quite we'd be like ninjas?"

Lee chuckled as George scowled up at them both. "Shut it! The both of you!" he said his voice quite as he could make it. George raised himself to his feet and proceeded to kick the stack of Herbology books that he had tripped over, only to yelp again in pain.

"Didn't think they were that heavy did you George?" Lee asked, shaking his head in amusement.

George, with a scowl planted firmly on his face stalked over to the bed and motioned for the other two. They slowly pulled back the curtains and smirked at each other. Fred held up a hand with three fingers and began to count them down silently. When the last finger fell they all pounced on top of Harry, jostling him awake.

"What th-" Harry groaned and shoved at the bodies on top of him, "Gerroff me, yah lousy sods."

"Oh Harry, you cut us to the quick you did." George said as they moved away from him and sat on the bed, waiting impatiently as Harry groped for his glasses and slid them onto his face.

"It's 7 o'clock in the bloody morning. This couldn't wait?" Harry asked scowling at the trio on his bed.

"Well it could've" Fred said.

"But this is far more fun." George grinned.

"'Sides we need to have a private chat and this way everyone's asleep." Lee said as he leaned forward to place his elbows on his knees.

Harry scoffed and blinked his eyes, "So, start talking."

"Why is Granger avoiding us?" Fred asked, his blunt question causing Harry to blink in an owlish way. Before he could speak George added his two knuts.

"She mentioned the Boggart lesson but that was it." George chimed in.

"Well, I don't really think it's my place to say." Harry said leaning back onto his hands.

"Come on Potter. There's no harm in telling." Lee said.

"Yeah we just wanna make it up to the lass really." Said George.

"Well, the boggart said some rather nasty things to her. The kind of things people say when she isn't listening. What the Slytherins will say to her when they're feeling vicious. She was really shaken up about it." Harry said running a hand through his hair. "Called her ugly and annoying, a Know-it-all. I think she was mostly embarrassed; everyone else's boggarts were rather tame compared to hers- that was a personal secret just displayed for the whole class to see."

"But she isn't ugly!" Fred protested, then shut his mouth quickly as he took in the odd look Harry shot his way.

"Well now that that has been established, how could she think any of those things are true?" George asked trying hard to stay serious and resist teasing his brother.

"Well there are loads of reasons why she'd believe that. She's grown up hearing those things every day from jealous and petty girls. From purebloods who can't accept their own inadequacies. From teacher's who don't like that she's smarter than most of them. From people who can't accept that she was right and they were wrong. How many times did we see her crying in her first year George? How many times had we pulled a stupid prank or said a stupid joke just to make her laugh? If it wasn't for that bloody troll she may never have even made friends her own age." Lee's voice was quiet and severe as he spoke, stunning the other boys silent.

Harry grimaced as he recalled the troll and the events that had happened that day. A part of him would always feel guilty for that, he knew that Ron felt terrible about it too. But Ron had a big mouth and he said things sometimes that could be hurtful. Harry sometimes wondered if the filter between the boy's mouth and brain had been forgotten in his development.

"Well yeah, I guess your right. But she's had me and Ron since then. We always tell her to ignore what those people are saying." Harry said.

"Yeah, but how often does Ron say those same things when he gets mad at her, when she gets a better grade. Have either of you ever actually TALKED to her other than the times that she's trying to help you with whatever trouble your in, or when she's practically writing out your essays for you? Do you ever defend her when she gets into a fight with Ron? I've never seen it, you just give her this sad look as he storms away and then you chase after him! And she always cries when you leave! You have two best friends not one. You're just like me and when they argue you never pick sides you try and help them resolve the issue. You defend the one getting unfairly yelled at. You don't chase after the idiot that caused the problems in the first place!" Lee was breathing rather heavily after he finished his rant and Harry looked ashamed and his face softened as he placed a hand on Harry's head. "I'm not saying you're a bad friend Harry. That isn't what I meant. I meant that sometimes you have to stay there for her, you have to be there for her when she needs you too. It's hard to make the choice of who to chase after, I know, but if you always chase after the same person every time, the other person will always feel like they're second best, or like they aren't worth your time."

Fred finally found his voice after Lee's little speech. He had never realized how much his fights with George would affect Lee. He shared a guilty look with George before he finally spoke, "What we have to do now is figure out how to convince her that she's worth friendship and that she is a special person, to all of us. We have to make sure that she never doubts herself."

The boys were silent until Harry raised his head, Lee's hand falling down to the side as it slide off his head. "But how? How can we fix this?"

The boys all shared a look as they ducked their heads together and began to discuss the different problems that needed to be fixed. They were determined that they would succeed in this act of mischief.

HGHGHGHGHG

The corridor was quiet as she wandered around early in the morning. She really had enjoyed herself the night before, it had been so long since she had spent a few hours making mischief and laughing with other people. The Twins and Lee had made her laugh, but they were always good for that. They had been making her laugh to herself for years now. She hadn't known that they were all so smart though. They talked about things she had never expected them to discuss. Potions theories and complicated charms had been her favorite thing that she had discussed with them. They had talked about normal things too, like music and books that they enjoyed reading. She had felt guilty that they had been slightly offended by her surprised look. She had never expected them to read for fun, she never saw them doing it and when she asked they laughed. Apparently they only read in their dorm, if they tried to read out in the commons to many people tended to bother them about one thing or another. She couldn't help but understand, she couldn't count how many times her reading had been interrupted by one person or another seeking help with homework.

She would probably never admit to anyone but herself but she had enjoyed the way her heart had raced and the blood pumped in her veins as they ran around the corridors as silently as they could. Hiding from Filch and running when they heard Mrs. Norris. She had decided last night, as she was being dragged along by Fred as they ran from Filch that The Twins and Lee were a lot more… maybe deeper was the best word. They were much deeper than she had anticipated and she felt slightly ashamed that she had pigeonholed them when people had done that to her constantly. They hadn't made fun of her friendship with the elves; they just accepted everything with a smile it seemed.

She wondered, though, was there ever a time when they could be serious? She wasn't sure; it seemed like they were always laughing and she was not afraid to admit that she envied them, their easy smiles and the way they could joke around act like complete idiots. Being serious was a good thing, she knew it was. She also knew there was such a thing as being too serious, she just didn't know where that line was. But she wanted people to see she could have fun and laugh; she wanted to show them she was more than a book with legs. It just wasn't fair. The twins seemed to have a similar problem in her opinion. They were looked at like troublemakers. She only ever heard people say how funny they were. Never how smart or creative they are. No one seemed to realize that they invented most of their pranks. No one ever commented on how brilliant they are, it didn't seem fair, these images people have of others that they just have to fit. It seemed everyone had an image to keep and most people were more than happy to fill it. She didn't want that anymore, she wanted people to see the other parts of her. She wanted real friends- not people who were only nice when they needed answers. She loved Harry and Ron, but they had become like family, she just wanted some friends that she could say anything to and not have to worry about everyone getting mad at her.

She passed a few other students as she wandered towards the great hall, they were in their groups laughing and talking. She absently wondered, as her eyes drifted over a slytherin first year, what would happen if she befriended a slytherin? She snorted softly and shook her head '_Gryffindor would probably go into outrage'._ She noticed Malfoy standing with his group of friends and she studied them. They laughed like other kids but their laughs came from being cruel, she couldn't help but wonder as she looked at their faces and stared at their eyes if they really enjoyed that. '_I wonder if they have ever laughed at something that someone said that wasn't mean, just witty' _she thought_. _Maybe they lashed out because it was expected of them, maybe they talked that way because that's what people thought and they were to afraid to leave the comfort of an image that gave them some power.

"Oi! Mudblood!" Malfoy yelled across the hallway as she walked past them.

Hermione turned and put a smile on her face, "Is there anything I can help you with, Malfoy?"

Malfoy paused for a moment and then sneered, "Yeah, could you tell us just how it is you got to be this ugly?"

Hermione's smile was strained as she rocked onto her heels, "Well you see Malfoy. People have these things called genes and these genes they get from their parents, I look like this because my parents genes made it that way."

Malfoy scowled at her and his cronies looked confused, "What do pants have anything to do with it? I thought muggles wore those."

Hermione smirked and turned away from them, "Yes well that's an entirely different pair of genes Malfoy. Perhaps you should look it up, might learn something yeah?"

Malfoy sneered and shoved her shoulder; it was almost playful the way he pushed her back into the crowd. Hermione merely smiled and waved before walking off to breakfast. '_See, doing the unexpected results in almost civil conversations with them. I'll do it more often.'_

Breakfast was loud just as always and as Hermione sat eating trying to block out the sheer volume of cranky students. She looked around the table and caught eyes with The Twins and Lee, they shot her an odd look, one that could have been sympathy but felt more like pity to her, and her smile stopped dead on her face. She turned away from then and went back to picking at her breakfast. She was confused as to why they would look at her like that. After all they had just talked last night, she was fine then and she was fine now, what had changed?

She looked around the table and saw Harry giving her guilty looks as he quickly ate his cereal. '_He's trying to escape! He knows something!' _ Hermione ate her breakfast and shot up quickly, chasing after Harry as he left the table. She followed him trying to call his name but he was ignoring her.

"Harry! Harry! What's going on?" Hermione yelled after him as they ran down the corridor.

"Nothing I'm just excited for Potions!" Harry yelled back and turned a corner.

"What?! You hate potions!" She yelled back.

Harry disappeared and Hermione had to stop running, her sides were aching and it was becoming hard for her to breathe. '_I need to start working out',_ she thought and stopped short, looking down at her body with a grimace. She was rather soft and curvy, she thought she looked healthy, but she knew some people would call her fat, and they did. She shook her head trying to rid herself of the negative thoughts. _'I have to corner Harry today'._ With that thought she headed off to potions and arrived seconds before the bell.

Potions class had been the same as always, Harry had run out immediately after the bell rang, barely taking time to clean up. She chased him to Transfiguration where they spent the class turning parchment into silk. She quite literally cornered him finally in the front hall before lunch. Harry eyes were darting around looking for someone to help him, but if Hermione's reputation was good for something, it was keeping away people too scared to challenge her.

"Now Harry," She said her face contorting into something between worry, anger and depression "Why on earth are you avoiding me? Have I done something wrong?"

"Wha-, What? No you haven't done anything wrong… and avoiding you?" Harry scoffed "Course not Mione, busy, busy day today."

Hermione smiled, "No not very busy at all, you've been looking rather guilty too."

Harry flushed, "I don't know what you mean Hermione."

Hermione crossed her arms and began to tap her foot, "The truth Harry, I want all of it."

"Bu-"

"Harry! The truth, now!" Hermione said

"But Mio-"

"Harry James Potter if you don't tell me in tw-"

"Alright! Alright, see the twins and Lee jumped on me this morning and kept asking questions and I was so tired and confused, but they said it was a good thing and I felt so guilty telling secrets that way, please don't hex me! I didn't mean to tell, they just kept bugging me and the jumping and bouncing, I just wanted to sleep, I didn't wanna talk to the-"

"What did you tell them Harry?" Hermione interrupted him face flushing hotter by the second.

Harry looked down and shuffled his feet, "I told them about your Boggart, Hermione." He murmured quietly.

Hermione was silent for a moment as the looks she had received from them clicked in her head. "Damn it, Harry! I didn't want them to know. It's bad enough OUR ENTIRE CLASS saw the blasted thing! I don't want their bloody pity! I don't want your bloody pity either! I can't believe you'd tell my secrets Harry!" Hermione was flushed now, from embarrassment and anger. "How could you?" She asked one last time before she turned and walked into the great hall and found a seat.

"I didn't mean to," Harry murmured to himself, "I only wanted to help you smile again." He walked away from the great hall and his lunch. He felt ashamed and slightly angry, he had only wanted to help, but it seemed Hermione was mad at him now and he was worried.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

She walked down the hall, a frown marring her face. She hadn't meant to yell at Harry, she was just so upset. She had dealt with the glances of pity and whispers for long enough. She certainly hadn't wanted those looks of pity from The Twins. Had they only talked to her out of pity? A misguided attempt to cheer her up? Well she didn't need them- she didn't need anyone. She'd bury herself into her books again, just concentrate on her studies and forget everyone else.

She knew she was missing class, but at the moment she just didn't care. Harry would be there and she didn't want to see him. She didn't want to see anyone but she had learned crying alone was a bad idea in first year. So she kept walking, denying the tears that she wanted to fall.

_What did Harry know anyway? What did he know about people telling his secrets? What did he know about his friends betraying them? What did he know about humiliation? Sure people talked about him _She sighed _People talked a lot, but they never said anything really bad, it was always about how he was The-Boy-Who-Lived. No one ever said anything bad and if they did they were slytherins. So it didn't really count. _

Growling in frustration, she tugged her hair, yanking it down from its messy bun. She looked around the corridor and found it empty, she gave a tight smile to the portrait lined walls and slid down one, falling to her bottom, head resting against the stone. She had tried so hard; she tried to help people, she tried to excel in class, and she tried to prove that she belonged there. Her hands came down slapping the stone over and over in frustration.

A choked sob left her throat and she shook her head. No! She wasn't going to cry. They didn't deserve her tears. She screwed her eyes shut trying to stop them but another sob came and her tears broke free. She buried her face into her knees and sobbed. She let her humiliated tears fall. No one could see her, this corridor was deserted anyway.

"Damn, Damn, Damn." She choked, "Bloody idiot!"

"I never thought I'd hear the precious Gryffindor Princess swear." A voice said.

"I'm not a bloody princess and you well know it!" She growled into her knees.

"Come now, look at me when I talk to you." The voice said as it moved closer.

"I don't have to do anything I don't want to Malfoy! What the Bloody Hell do you want?" She asked her voice muffled against her robes.

"I heard someone crying and figured I should check. Are you alright Granger?" Draco asked.

"What? Why do you care? I'm nothing but a filthy Mudblood! Remember? Everyday I hear those words from you mouth!" She yelled, "_Mudbloods shouldn't talk to there betters that way, Mudbloods should know there place, Watch how you talk to me filthy Mudblood! Mudblood! Mudblood! Mudblood!" _She mocked him in his drawling tone, sounding just like a pureblood.

Draco blinked in surprise; "I don't call you Mudblood everyday, besides it's just a word…"

"Just a word! Just a fucking word? If it were just a 'word' you wouldn't use it! Well how about this you inbred pureblooded bastard! How would you like it if I called you that? If I made fun of your blood? Well guess what yours is dirtier than mine is! Your parents are cousins! Cousins Malfoy! You don't have any cleans genes in your entire body. Do you know what Incest can eventually do to a family? Deformities, mental diseases things you never want to see! My blood may not me all magic but at least I can say that it really is PURE. Look at your friends, look really close and I'll bet you'll find something wrong with each and every single one of those purebred puppies." She ranted to him angrily; it wasn't just a word to her.

Draco was pale, very pale and he didn't know what to say to her, he just shook his head and backed away down the hall. "I had only wanted to see why you were crying…" He whispered to her.

"That isn't any of your business, Malfoy." She growled at him sitting down again, not remembering when she actually stood to begin with.

Malfoy merely nodded his head and turned away walking quickly down the hall.

Hermione to begin to sob again. What was wrong with her temper today? She didn't understand why she kept yelling at people… Was it the time turner? Was she under too much stress right now? Or was it just the fact that she really was a little snob? No she wasn't a snob, she wasn't they were wrong. She was just stressed out. She looked down to see Malfoy turn the corner. Why would Malfoy care if herheard someone cry? Why would he be concerned? Then again; she didn't know anything about Malfoy, not really.

HGHGHGHGHG

Harry leaned against the wall knocking his head against it over and over again.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid…" He just mumbled under his breath over and over again. He really hadn't meant to make Hermione so mad. He had never seen her so angry. He only wanted to help her. She was his best friend. She never doubted him, not once since they had met. She was always so kind to people and rarely actually lost her temper, unless it was aimed at Ron.

Harry smiled softly. Hermione was like the sister her always wanted, the family that he had yearned for since he was young. He didn't know why people said horrible things about her but he hated hearing them and more often then not lost his temper with those people, the people who said things about his sister, the jealous bastards.

He knew telling the twins what was going on was a bad idea. But he didn't know how to fix what was wrong. The twins were an indirect source of her problems and he thought they could help. They had made a plan to prove to Hermione that she wasn't any of those things that people said, and they only said it because they were jealous.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid…" He was going to have a bruise he just knew it.

"Oi! Potter what on earth are you doing?"

Harry turned his head and saw the twins and Lee approaching him. "I'm trying to rid my head of all the stupid you three must have infected me with, I'd rather live another day thanks…" Harry said to them sliding down the wall to sit and the other boys joined him.

"What's going on?" Lee asked.

Harry groaned, "Hermione found out."

The other boys started and frowned at him, "You told?!"

"I hadn't meant to! She cornered me and kept pushing and pushing and I caved and then she snapped. She really, really mad guys." Harry said, "I was never suppose to tell you."

"We would have found out eventually." One of the twins said.

"Yeah but I'm her best friend, I'm not suppose to tell her secrets. I think she's more embarrassed than angry. I hate making her upset but I just wanted to help her." Harry was so despondent and the twins looked worried.

"What'd she do?" They asked together.

"She swore… She swore a lot." Harry murmured eyes wide, "She said Bloody at least twice."

The other boys were wide eyed and looking at each other concerned, "We're dead aren't we?" Lee asked.

The other boys nodded and stood. Lee handed Harry a sandwich and smiled. "Figured you'd be hungry… At least we know why Granger didn't eat anything earlier at lunch."

"Why's that?" One of the twins asked.

"She's bloody well pissed you prat." Lee said cuffing his shoulder.

"Ah… Well I knew that." He said

"Course you did.." Lee said.

HGHGHGHGHG

Hermione sat at dinner looking to the Slytherin table and watching as a school owl landed in front of Draco Malfoy. She knew what the note said, just two words and an initial.

I'm sorry

_H.G_

She hadn't meant to scream at Malfoy, and she really hadn't a reason to do it earlier and she knew it. She knew that she should apologize because she was in the wrong this time. Even if he had never apologized to her, she didn't care. It was right and proper and she do it anyway even if she got no response.

A pale Malfoy glanced at her and nodded his head ever so slightly and she gave a small smile inclining her head just a tiny bit. It was nice to know that people could be civil to each other no matter the backgrounds.

She went back to her dinner, surprised to find five paper notes sitting in front of her. All apologizing, one just said _Me too. _None were initialed, they all just said sorry and begged forgiveness; she just scowled down her table and with a flick of her wrist the notes burst into flame. The four boys down the table winced and recoiled from her heated glare. She turned to the Slytherin table again and gave Malfoy a small smile, maybe people could change, and if he could maybe she could too.

HGHGHGHGHG

The boys looked at each other and frowned. Hermione was still angry.

"What do we do now?" Harry asked.

"We wait and keep groveling at her feet hoping we won't die." One of the twins said with a weak smile.

"What are you guys going on about?" Ron asked looking around the table.

"Nothing Ron. Just steer clear of Mione for a bit okay?" Harry said wincing as he glanced at the angry girl.

"Yeah, your life may depend on it." Lee said as the four worried boys went back to their dinners, eating silently. They all knew they had to apologize, but how did you apologize when you know you were wrong but were only trying to help?


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

It had been a whole day since she talked to Harry and the boys. They had all tried to apologize on numerous occasions, Fred had even gotten on his knees. But she had ignored them. She couldn't help but think '_Is this okay? Is it really okay to so easily forgive an enemy and not a friend?' _It had been so easy to apologize to Malfoy. Her pride still intact and everyone was none the wiser. She just needed more courage, '_Someone to help me face my fears_'. A slow grin made it's way onto her face, she knew just who to talk to.

She raced down the halls, feeling happy for the first time in two days. She would forgive them and she would solve their fight, but first she needed a bit of courage. She skidded to a halt in front of the DADA classroom.

"Professor Lupin! Professor?" She called as she knocked on the door. "Professor I need to talk to you."

The door swung open and a groggy professor greeted her, "Miss. Granger? What is it, it's almost curfew."

"I need your help, Harry and I got into a fight because he did something wrong and I can't seem to find it in me to forgive him…" She said. "How do I find the courage to set aside my pride and apologize for my own mistake?"

Remus smiled and beckoned her into the classroom. "Have a seat," he motioned to an empty chair and sat on the desk before it. "Explain this to me please?"

Hermione smiled softly, "Well Harry told the Twins about my Boggart… I just- I was so embarrassed. I yelled at him, said he betrayed my trust and broke his promises. I told him he wasn't a good friend." Hermione duck her head and sniffled softly, "I know that he was wrong for telling like that, but I was wrong for yelling. Why is it so easy to forgive an enemy and not a friend?"

Remus smiled and placed as hand on her shoulder, "Hermione, child, your young and your pride was hurt by a dear friend. I understand that you are upset and yes you were both in the wrong and you both should be apologizing. But forgiving a friend for unexpected actions is much harder than forgiving an enemy of things that you had already suspected them to do."

"I see…. I shouted at Malfoy earlier and it got out of hand. He was only trying to help. It was so simple to apologize to him for being angry, for yelling at him for being his usual rude self when I snapped at him. At that same time the boys they apologized and I just ignored it. Do I just feel betrayed because the actions I'm used to seeing changed so much?" She said this all aloud more to herself than to Remus, but he understood none the less.

"When I was in school my best friend told a rival a very big secret of mine. This secret was dangerous, it could have hurt many people. It was easy for me to forgive the curiosity and malicious words of my rival, but my friend… it took me months to fully forgive him; I knew he hadn't meant any real harm but It was my secret to tell and it was given away so easily, with one measly sentence." Remus chuckled softly, "He betrayed us again too, but sometimes I just wonder.."

Hermione smiled at Remus and put a hand on his arm to shake him from his reverie, "Professor? How should I apologize to them?"

"That's simple my dear, just two words and your free." Remus said, "Now I believe it is time for you to be heading out." He ushered her to the door and before he could make the girl leave she hugged him tightly and whispered another thank you. Remus smiled and patted her back before saying goodnight and heading back upstairs to his rooms.

"Professor?" Hermione called softly causing Remus to pause. "Who was your friend?"

"Sirius Black." And with that he entered his rooms, shutting the door firmly behind him.

Hermione stood there thinking of the implications of that name before she realized that it really was time for her to head back to her dorm.

The walk back to Gryffindor Tower, took much longer than she had anticipated. Her mind filled with wandering thoughts and whispering portraits. She knew how to forgive them and she would do it in the morning at breakfast, even if she had to do it in front of the whole school.

When she entered the tower the fire was burning low and the common room was almost empty. She didn't know that a group of boys were sitting in the fifth year dorm, planning on how to get forgiveness in the morning. She didn't know how hard they worked on the plan or how complicated they had made it seem. If she had, she may have smiled a bit at their wasted effort, as endearing as it was. But she didn't know and she made her way up the stairs to her dorm, smiling softly when she noticed the cookies and milk with the warm blanket laid out on her bed. The elves must have heard of her troubles and it warmed her to know that she'd always have them there for her.

"Thank you, little ones." She whispered and heard the soft laughter in return.

She curled up in her bed eating the warm cookies, _'Peanut butter chocolate chip, my favorite.' _The milk was nice and cold and the cookies were warm in her stomach and as she took her last bite she slowly drifted of in a comfortable slumber, uniform still on and her feet hanging of the bed, she had never slept better in her life.

HGHGHGHGHG

The morning sun was bright as it drifted into the window of her dorm, playing across her face. Her eyes scrunched up and she groaned twisting her body away. She knew the time for sleeping was over. She cracked open an eye to look at her clock 7:15. Classes start at 8 she flung the cover up and raced around her room changing her uniform and brushing her hair while casting a quick cleansing charm on her mouth and body. She had no time and she had to get to the great hall, she had to apologize! Minutes later you could see a blur of black and brown racing down the halls. You could also see a group of nervous boys standing in front of the doors to the great hall, waiting for that blur to arrive.

Hermione arrived at the great hall, breathing heavily and looking at her watch, 7:30. She had made it in time; she grinned and looked up to the door trying to build her courage. She froze at the site of Harry, Fred, George and Lee standing before her, odd, lumpy packages in hand and giving her uncertain smiles.

"Forgive us?" They asked thrusting the shapes towards her.

"I don't want your gifts." She said and was surprised at their crestfallen faces.

"Please Hermione? We really only wanted to help." Said Lee as he took a step forward.

"No I don't want presents!" She snapped and correcting her tone at the hurt faces, "I don't need them to forgive you, I know that you were only trying to help." She sighed "I know that now, I owe you all an apology. I've been a regular hag to you these last couple of days and I-I'm sorry. I was just embarrassed." She turned to look at Harry, " I never should have yelled, forgive me?"

The boys were stunned. They couldn't even work out a proper response to her at that moment in time, they just didn't understand why she was apologizing to them of all things. Hermione finally sighed and nodded her head, turning from the group and making her way to the doors.

"Wait!" Harry called,

Hermione turned and hopeful smile finding it's way onto her face. "Yes?"

"You have to forgive me first, you have to forgive me for saying things I shouldn't." Harry said moving towards her.

Hermione smiled, " I could never stay mad at you for long Harry, you know that. I'll always forgive you."

"And I'll always forgive you, Mione." Harry said with a grin, Hermione moved forward launching herself into his arms, laughing. Harry looked surprised but returned the grin. Neither noticed the slight pained look thrown their way but two others did. Harry released Hermione and shoved her towards the three older boys.

"Do you forgive me too?" Hermione asked in a small voice looking to her feet.

A hand came forward and lifted her chin gently and she looked up into Fred's face. He was smiling at her in a way he had never done before. It made her cheeks flush and her chest feel funny. "Always Hermione, we're friends after all, right?"

Hermione laughed again throwing her arms around him, not noticing the flushing of his face. She pulled the others boys into the group hug. She smiled into Fred's chest. "Yeah we're friends now, I forgive you for your curiosity, too."

The boys grinned and squeezed her tightly releasing her from their grasp. "Now," George said smirking as his blushing twin, He held out his package again with a smile. "Happy Birthday princess."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Hermione froze, her face twisting in confusion before a blush covered her cheeks. She looked at each of the boys in turn, "My birthday's today?"

It was the boys' turn to be shocked as they gazed at the third year girl, "Uh yeah." Harry said, "Did you forget Mione?"

Hermione gave a nervous laugh, "Of course not Harry, I was merely testing you." None of the boys believed her but they didn't want to start fighting again, besides she looked rather cute when she blushed.

They all sat down in the middle of the entrance hall. People shot them odd looks but at that moment Hermione didn't care, she was just too happy. Harry handed over his gift first.

Taking in the appearance of the gift, Hermione could tell he wrapped it himself. The package was lumpy, thin and shaped like a rectangle. She slowly peeled of the paper surrounding it and her eyes met with the back of a frame. She turned it over to see a photo of Harry, Ron and herself around the common room fire.

It must have been taken last year, after she had been unpetrified. She smiled softly and asked, "Did Collin take this?"

"Uh yeah, Collin Creevey did." Harry said and smiled. "Do you like it then?"

"Of course Harry, I love it." Her voice was soft as she carefully wrapped the paper around the frame sticking it in her bag. She leaned over and gave him a hug; "It's just perfect Harry, now I can take my best friends with me."

The older boys looked on at the touching moment, smiling to themselves. They were their own little trio too, so they knew it was horrible to be separated. Lee caught Hermione's attention and handed her his gift. It was rather lumpy but a lot bigger, wrapped in a violent shade of pink. Hermione chuckled at the package before removing the paper. As she tore a large strip from it, she could see a bit of red cloth peeking through. Her brow furrowed and she turned to Lee in confusion. He just shrugged and smiled, gesturing to the package. She removed the rest of the paper to find a scarlet canvas bag. She smiled and hugged it to her chest.

"Thank you! I've been meaning to get a new one. My other one was getting kinda threadbare." She smiled at Lee before leaning across the circle and hugging him. Lee looked a bit sheepish but hugged her back anyway. His dark skin hid his blush as the twins teased him from over her shoulder.

"Well I noticed that's why I picked this up for you, it also has a simple expansion charm on the two front pockets so you can put quills and stuff in them." Lee said as he gave her a light squeeze and pulling back from the hug. He didn't mention that he had done the charm himself.

"Oh! That's perfect. My quills always end up snapped in my bag." She sat and quickly changed out school bags as the boys watch on, amused by her excitement. She smiled brightly to the twins, the mood of getting gifts taking over her senses. "What'd you get me?"

They laughed and George ruffled her hair. "Oh we didn't get you anything, did we Fred?"

"Nope we didn't buy her a thing at all." Fred looked amused as Hermione's face fell a bit.

"Then what's with the packages in your hands?" She asked.

"Oh these are for you, we just didn't buy you anything." George said with a smile.

Fred smirked at her muttered 'prats' and handed over his gift. "Here, for you princess."

Hermione quickly looked back up from the present when Fred called her Princess; his gently teasing smile caused her to blush before she eagerly opened her gift. The wrapping job was atrocious and the paper was a horrible orange color. But she was careful none the less. This one was heavier and thicker than her other gifts and as she ripped off the final layer of her gift, she saw text written in a language she didn't know. She looked at Fred confused and he smiled at her.

"Our oldest brother Bill sent it from Egypt. Apparently it's pretty rare to find one still written in the original ruins. Most are translated. He said it was a book on old rituals or something. I knew you were taking Ancient Ruins this year so I figured you could have fun trying to decipher that from what you learned in class." He smiled at her with a hopeful glint in his eye. He knew a book for her was a bit cliché but he didn't think anyone had ever given her a book like this. His point was proven as she started bouncing and squealing on the floor.

"Everything we get in class isn't really a challenge at all but now I can work on this. It'll be my own little challenge." She jumped at Fred grinning like a fool. Fred's face flamed violently as he wrapped his arms around her, clearing his throat.

"Yeah, well I figured you'd enjoy it, you're smarter than most the fourth years anyway." He said rubbing the back of his neck.

Hermione grinned and pulled back from him, "I'm not nearly that smart, but thank you." She blushed and moved back to her spot. "I seem to be giving out loads of hugs today."

The boys all grinned and George handed her a lumpy magenta package, "Here yah go princess, last gift of the morning." She seemed to miss the 'princess' comment, though Fred happily noticed that she hadn't reacted to George in the same way she had to him earlier.

Hermione smiled and took the soft package in her hands. She tore away the wrapping paper to find a red sweater with a golden F on it. She blushed and looked from George to Fred. Fred looked horrified and George was smirking. "I didn't have time to get mum to knit you one and I couldn't find any of my old ones lying around as G is the closest letter to H, but I figured F is pretty close too. So I just knicked one of Fred's old ones."

"I-I, Thanks I think." Hermione looked to Fred to see if he objected to her recent gift. He just stared at George horrified. "Uh, if you don't want me to have it Fred, I can give it back."

Fred shook his head and waved his hands in front of himself. "No-no that's alright, you can keep it; I just didn't know what it was before you received it. I was just surprised is all."

George pouted, "Where's my excited hug Hermione? I mean everyone else got one."

Hermione smiled sheepishly, "Sorry George." She hugged him tightly and thanked him again.

"It'll be really nice to wear in the dorms, It gets chilly in there at night." Hermione said, not noticing Fred ducking his head, his face and neck red.

They looked up as the bell rang and the boys groaned knowing that they had missed breakfast that morning.

But seeing Hermione smile with happiness because of them was worth it. Besides it wasn't like they couldn't eat their fill at lunch. They got up and Hermione grabbed her new bag, slinging it over her shoulder.

"See you boy's later, come on Harry."

FWFWFWFWFWFW

The older boys watched as the two third years walked off to class. Fred glared at George from the corner of his eye and whispered. "You're dead when we get back to the dorms."

"Ah, Freddie don't be upset, think of it this way, you'll get to see her wrapped up in your sweater almost every night now." He turned to Fred, a smirk firmly on his face. "You can't tell me you don't want to see that."

Fred shoved his brother's shoulder, "Come on it's time for class." He leaned down and grabbed Hermione's old bag and shoved inside his own. He was going to owe Bill so big for the rest of his life for that gift he got. But he had a feeling that Hermione was always going to be worth it.

HGHGHGHGHGHGHG

Hermione's day had been great. Ron had gotten her a new quill, her parents had sent money for the first Hogsmeade trip and the girls in her dorm had chipped in and bought her some sugar free Sugar Quills. She didn't quite know how that worked but they tasted pretty good so she wasn't going to complain. Even the Slytherins had been ignoring her today, which, from her perspective, was a gift in itself.

Her classes had been fun, but the use of her time turner had been exhausting. She knew that today they had a late DADA class. She had studied her schedule and noticed that almost every month for two consecutive days, their classes were later in the evening instead of after lunch. She had been confused but figured there was a reason for it.

When they had gotten to Professor Lupin's classroom and settled into their seats, they noticed he wasn't anywhere in the room.

"I wonder where the professor is?" Ron asked as he peered around.

"Maybe he's running late." Harry said as he pulled out his textbooks.

"Well the schedule is a bit funny today." Hermione said a finger on her chin as she peered around. "Besides he'll be here soon."

At that moment the doors swung open to reveal a professor, but it wasn't Professor Lupin. The figured stalked to the front of the class and smirked at them all.

"Who can tell me the difference between an Animagus and a Werewolf?" The drawling tones of Professor Snape washed over them as they all froze in place. Hermione's hand shot in the air.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Hermione sat in her chair, hand in the air, but Professor Snape seemed to be ignoring her. She was getting frustrated. He always ignored her. Why weren't her answers ever good enough for the hooked nose creep? It was just ridiculous that he couldn't even let her answer a simple question. Her hand began to wave about in urgency. She hated acting like this, but she hated him ignoring her more, she was good enough. And someday she'd prove it to people like him.

"No one? What has Lupin been teaching you all?"

"Bu-" Harry began.

"Talking out of turn Potter? That'll be ten points from Gryffindor?" Professor Snape spat before sighing dramatically. "He's taught you nothing has he?"

"Actuall-" It was Dean this time.

"Mr. Thomas, did you learn nothing from a few moments before? Fifteen points from Gryffindor. Next time, raise your hand." The Professor's eyes finally landed on Hermione and with a small smirk he continued to ignore her. Her hand was more frantic and she was practically standing on her seat.

"We're studying Hinkypunks and Redkaps, sir." The voice was male and came from the Slytherin side. Hermione didn't recognize it but shot a glare towards it for not being rebuked.

"Ah so you all don't know, do you? Or perhaps one of you does know?" His eyes landed on Hermione again and a small sigh escaped his lips, "Very well Miss Granger, please share with us your never ending fountain of knowledge."

Hermione blushed violently but she wasn't deterred, she straightened her back and rattled off an answer that would impress the strictest O.W.L. examiner. She was beaming with pride until she noticed the look of pure annoyance on Professor Snape's face. The slytherins were making obnoxious howling noises, but he seemed to only be frustrated with her. She didn't understand she had answered it correctly.

"Hmmm, must you be such a Know-it-all Miss Granger? Or is it that you simply can't control yourself?" He proceeded to assign a ridiculous amount of homework for the class that was due on his desk in two days time. The gryffindors were annoyed, shouting about quidditch practice and games. Snape only replied 'Not even death will excuse you.' Harry seemed disgruntled and Ron's face was cherry red.

The class proceeded with Hermione learning a few more things about werewolves that she hadn't known before. With this knew knowledge suspicions were planted in her head. Professor Snape seemed to be paying more attention to her on this night as well. Puzzle pieces were forming but she didn't have the big picture yet, but it was there and it wouldn't leave her alone for the rest of the night.

HGHGHG

She found Lee later that night after dinner. While the Gryffindor(plus the fanatic Ron) was at the pitch for practice, Hermione and Lee were left alone in the common room. She sat near him on the sofa, pulling out her books. Lee glanced up from his own report and gave her a smile.

"'Lo there Hermione. How were your classes today?" Lee asked.

"They were alright, I'm a bit tired but Professor Snape set us an essay on Werewolves." She replied.

"Really? I'm working on the same thing?" Lee said turning towards her. "We could work together, If you want?"

Hermione grinned at him, "That'd be great thanks."

They had worked together on the essay for twenty minutes before Lee spoke again.

"I wonder why he set all the years this essay? Isn't it sort of odd?" He asked as he wrote down another line.

"It is…" Hermione said looking up from her parchment. "But he must have a good reason for it, don't you think?"

"Yeah, probably. Wonder what it is though." Lee responded before turning back to his text and scribbling down more facts.

The worked in silence for a few minutes before Lee looked up and nudged he knee. "Hey Hermione… Can I- Can I ask you something personnel?"

Hermione looked up from her essay and gave Lee a wary grin, "I don't see why not…." She trailed off.

"Well.. I was curious if you fancied anyone actually. I mean I've never heard about you having a crush on a boy or anything like that…." His voice trailed off and looked down to his lap where he began to fidget with his hands. He looked nervous. "Yah know just for curiosities sake, and all that."

Hermione smiled sadly, "Oh Lee.. I'm sorry but uh… I see you like a brother. I don't have feeling for you like that."

"Wait.. No! That's not what I meant! I meant- um.. No I was just curious.. but I am glad that you see me that way. I think of you like a little sister if that helps." Lee's face had gone from panicked to soft and affectionate as he finished his sentence.

Hermione blushed and giggled covering her mouth to hide her grin.

"But yeah, what I was trying to get at was what do you think of Fred?" He asked trying to keep his face passive.

"Oh! Um, He's a really great guy why do you ask?" She said giving him a funny look.

"Just curious.."

She was silent for a bit before she looked back up at him with comprehension, "Oh! Did you want to know if I fancied anyone because you fancy Fred? I won't tell, I swear! It's rather sweet actually."

"What? No! Just No! Hermione.. That wasn't what I meant at all!"

"Then why did you ask?"

"Well the thing is.."

His words were cut off as the Portrait hole swung open revealing the quidditch team. The girls seemed really angry and the boys were laughing uproariously. Oliver Wood gave the pair a wink and smile as he made his may across the commons.

"Granger, I was wondering if you could give me a bit of help on that Defense essay?" He asked throwing a discrete look back at the twins.

"Of course Oliver, I just finished with Lee actually." Hermione said as she pulled her essay back from her bag. "What'd you need help with?"

"Oh just bits and pieces, let me go get my bag." Oliver turned away throwing and unseen smirk at Fred, than ran up the steps.

Fred's face had gone slightly red and his grip on his broom had turned his knuckles white. He grit his teeth as he followed Oliver with his eyes. When the older boy disappeared, he turned toward Hermione a smile on his face.

"Granger!" he exclaimed before he dropped onto the couch next to her. "How have you been on your lovely birthday?" He asked wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

"It was great Fred, thanks again for the book. I managed to translate a couple of words in class today. My teacher was impressed that you managed to find a book like that for me." Hermione said smiling up at him, while unconsciously leaning into him.

Fred beamed down at her; "You need to tell us how you do that…tell us apart I mean. But I'm glad you enjoyed my gift."

George had maneuvered himself to her other side and wrapped an arm around her shoulder as well, "Granger, you are quite the fascinating little bird. But I notice your not using my gift for you, why's that?"

Hermione looked to George and smiled, "Well it's warm down here right now, so I don't need a sweater. But I'll probably have to use it when I go to bed."

George glanced over her head to his brother, whose face was turned away but he could see the distinct redness on his brothers neck and ears.

"Ah well, you'll have to model it for me one of these days, alright?" George said giving her shoulders a squeeze.

"Alright, I guess I could," Hermione said. She was slightly confused but brushed it off and looked to the stairs that Oliver was coming down.

"Ready to go Granger?" He asked setting his bag down.

"Yeah. Why don't Fred and George stay, that way they can get help too." She suggested looking into her bag for her books.

The twins shared a grin and turned to smirk at Oliver. He looked slightly annoyed but dropped the subject with a sigh; soon Hermione had a group of students surrounding her, asking for help. This was how it always was. She could never seem to shake that image. But she did notice that with the twins there, it was more fun. When they made her laugh people gave her odd looks, but she shook them off and continued to tease both of the twins back. She wished she could study like this every night.

HGHGHGHGHG

It was getting late and she was tired. She had helped a lot of the students finish their essays while working on her own homework. It was nice to be needed, she could admit that, but the question on her mind was '_Am I wanted? Do they talk to me because I'm wanted or because they have no other choice? Is it because I can help them get a good grade?' _She didn't like thinking that way but it was hard not to. Some of the people never talked to her unless they needed help with some homework. She shook her head, she'd think about it later. She stood and packed her bag, telling everyone goodnight. She hugged the twins, Lee, Harry and even Ron again, thanking them for the gifts before she made her way up the stairs. A cheeky shout of 'Stay warm Granger' and a muffled 'Ow!' Were the last things she heard before shutting her dorm door.

The other girls were already asleep in their beds. Light snores could be heard from behind a couple of the bed hangings. She smiled at her dorm mates' beds before she began to change. She went to bed that night with an easy mind, a spicy smell in her nose and her arms wrapped up in Fred Weasley's sweater.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Hermione awoke to the sounds of muffled giggles and whispered questions. She groaned and batted at the noises. This spurred another round of fresh giggles from her roommates. 'This is ridiculous! I am trying to sleep!' Her roommates could be so bothersome sometimes, and they wondered why she barely talked to them, insipid little girls.

"Hermione?" She heard Pavarti whisper, feeling someone nudge her arm.

Hermione groaned and buried her head under the pillow, she had been up late last night because of that stupid essay Snape assigned. "Goway." She said smashing the pillow against he face tightly.

"Heerrmmiiooneee." Lavender sang to her shaking her awake. "Come on! You have to tell us where you got that sweater!"

"George Weasley!" Hermione stated before returning the pillow over her head. There was 5 seconds of blissful silence until her roommates exploded into questions.

"What?"

"Wait, George Weasley, gave that to you?"

"Why's it got an F on it then?"

The questions continued until Hermione finally growled and threw her pillow away smacking one of the girls in the face, "If you must know it was a birthday gift! It's got an F on it because he was too lazy to look for his old ones! I'm wearing it because it is warm and comfortable! Now if you don't mind I would like to sleep in today as it's only 7 O'clock; I would appreciate the chance to sleep in a bit as I stayed up helping YOU with YOUR essay for Snape! Now. LEAVE. ME. ALONE!" She growled before curling back up under the blanket.

Her roommates stayed by her bed, stunned into silence. They finally filtered off and she sighed happily trying to fall back to sleep. It was working until she heard the whisper.

"Why on earth would the Weasley twins talk to her?" A girl, Violet, said as she packed her school bag. "She's not even pretty."

Her eyes clenched shut, but other than that she gave no visible sign that she heard.

"Shhhh, Violet, she'll hear you." Another girl, Mary, said and giggled. "Though I can't say your wrong."

Hermione didn't see the withering looks that were sent to the two girls by Pavarti and Lavender.

"How about you both shut you mouths before we tell her what you said and she hexes you back to the age of Merlin." Pavarti said, her voice carried the same sweet note to it but there was an edge to it the Hermione had never heard before and she smiled.

"Hermione may not be drop dead gorgeous," Hermione winced again at Lavender's comment, "but, she's a better person than you'll ever be and far prettier too! The only thing wrong with her is she too shy!" Hermione's eyes went wide, 'she was shy? Is that what they thought of her?'

The giggles stopped and the two girls left in a huff followed shortly by Lavender and Pavarti. She smiled to herself and decided that she'd get each girl a big box of Honeyduke's Special Dark Chocolate Whip for Christmas this year. They deserved it after all and she couldn't wait to tell Harry what they had done for her.

HGHGHG

Hermione's morning hadn't started out the best, but with the new-found knowledge of her roommates had made it that much brighter. She couldn't stop herself from smiling brightly at them at breakfast and wishing them good morning. They had smiled back, surprised, and struck up a conversation with her about how exactly she got the sweater. They had giggled and sighed, during her story and told her she was so lucky to have such cute boys as friends. That comment had given Hermione pause. She guessed Harry was rather cute in an awkward way. Lee was very handsome and a great person to talk to. George was also fairly good-looking in her opinion, he was funny and charming.

Did she think Fred was cute? Well if George was so was Fred. So why did they both make her feel a different emotion when they were around? Fred made her blush and when he smiled at her, her heart, acted funny in her chest. Maybe that meant she did think he was cute, but in a different way than George? She was unaware of the eyes on her as her face began to blush with her mind racing about thoughts of Fred.

She shook her head and turned to the staff table. Professor Lupin sat in his chair, looking weary and tired. He seemed to have fresh scratches across his cheeks. 'How did he get those? That doesn't make any sense… Wasn't he sick?' Her brow furrowed in confusion before she went back to eating her breakfast, only to be interrupted by the twins seating themselves on either side of her that morning.

"Morning Princess! How are you this fine day?" George asked as he grabbed a two pieces of toast and proceeded to make the oddest sandwich that Hermione had ever seen.

"I'm fine," She said raising an eyebrow at George for the use of the word 'princess'. She turned to Fred only to see making that same odd sandwich, she shook her head, sometimes the twins made her wonder about them. She leaned into Fred slightly before whispering, "Fred? Where do you think Professor Lupin got those scratches on his cheeks?"

Fred froze and turned to look at her, then moved his eyes up to the head table. "I dunno Hermione…" He said and bit into his sandwich.

Hermione wrinkled her nose and frowned, "Alright then." She turned back to the conversation that was happening between George and her roommates.

"-so cute in the sweater!" She heard Lavender say, a giggle escaping her mouth.

Hermione froze. What was cute in a sweater?

"I knew she would! Our Princess always looks cute, isn't that right Fred?" Fred choked on his sandwich and Hermione patted his back. George merely chuckled and turned back to the girls.

"You really should have come down and showed us the sweater Granger." George said throwing and arm across her shoulder. "Was it comfortable enough?"

"Uh.. Yeah it was.. It smelled really good too." Fred began to choke again, his face covered in a heavy blush. "You really should be more careful when you eat Fred, you keep choking." Hermione said as she rubbed his back

George chuckled as Fred glared at him from over the top of Hermione's head. Hermione's hand stayed on his back, rubbing it in a soothing pattern as she chatted with her roommates. They talked about their homework and discussed plans for the first Hogsmeade trip. Hermione smiled and for the first time felt as if her circle of friends were expanding.

HGHGHGHGHG

Hermione walked into her potions class head high and a smile on her face. She made her way to her seat and waited for class to start. Professor Snape strode in and silenced the class with one look and proceeded to tell them about pepper-up potions. They were making the base today and when he was done talking Hermione began to work. The class went by quickly and was only interrupted a few times.

When class had ended most the Gryffindors stayed behind and approached the professor's desk. Professor Snape was bent over a first year essay, red marks covering the once clean parchment. Harry cleared his throat and the professor looked up.

"Yes Mr. Potter?" He asked before turning back to the parchment in front of him.

"We wanted to turn in our Werewolf essay, professor." Harry said before placing the scroll of parchment on his professor's desk before turning to leave. One by one 10 students placed the completed essay onto his desk. Hermione was the only one to continue to linger. She had decided last night that she'd talk to Snape and make him tell her why he ignored her.

"Professor?" Hermione said trying to regain his attention. "I was wondering if I could speak to you."

Professor Snape let out a weary sigh and leaned back in his chair, "Yes Miss Granger? What is it you need?"

"Why do ignore me when I raise my hand? And then when you do call on me you seem to be angry that I got the answer right. Why aren't I good enough for your praise?"

Professor Snape's lips curled into a sneer. "I don't treat you like a prodigy because if I did, then all your teachers would. Someone had to keep your little feet on the ground. I would also love to just once see someone else besides you answer a question in your blasted class. I won't praise you until you done something that is beyond your current abilities to do. Why praise someone for something they do with ease, when something they work at should be much hard to accomplish. Besides your other teachers praise you enough, Now I have work to do and If you would please ask Professor Lupin how he's doing after last night for me? I'll be to busy today to do it myself." He turned back to the essay and began to make his marks again, an obvious dismissal and Hermione went on her way to the tower that would take her too Divination. One thought seemed to cloud her mind though, 'What did he mean after last night? What happened to Professor Lupin?'

HGHGHGHG

Hermione was irritated, didn't have an "inner-eye" my foot. Divination was a wooly subject at best and while she knew that Pavarti and Lavender weren't the bright girls sometimes she couldn't understand their infatuation with that horrible insect of a Professor, Trelawney. She looked like a giant beetle for goodness sakes! She had a horrible headache from the incense too. She shook her head and ducked into an alcove grabbing a small hourglass from beneath her shirt. She turned it once and then moved it another quarter turn. The world spun for a few seconds before she found herself in an empty corridor. She moved from the alcove and made her way to Arithmancy. 'Now this is MUCH better than that silly divination class.' She thought as she sat down to take her notes, a part of her mind was still pondering Professor Lupin's wounds and Professor Snape's cryptic words. She also couldn't help but think that maybe she should thank Professor Snape as well when Christmas came around.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

It was close to Halloween now and the twins were the most excited that she had seen them. It was the season for tricks and treats and they had been planning a party in the common room. They kept bugging her about what she was going to dress up as, she didn't even know if she'd attend. She wasn't thrilled about the idea of people being loud and obnoxious all night. But the twins had been bugging her and she knew soon she'd be giving in and submitting herself to dress up. Besides, she did sort of owe them after they had defended her. She had told Harry, Lee, Fred, George and Ron about what Mary and Violet had said. Not even two days later those girls had found their skin dyed purple and heads bald. She would have felt bad for them had they not been so cruel. Although Lavender and Pavarti had been squealing over a package the other day so she figured she probably owed them for that too. She smiled when she thought of their faces on Christmas when she could get her own gift for them.

She'd also been researching using her Time-Turner and figured out that Professor Lupin was a werewolf. The last straw had been when she witnessed Professor Snape giving him a cup of steaming potion before the most recent full moon. She kept fretting over her revelation because he had developed such a close relationship with Harry. He seemed like a nice enough man but she couldn't shake that apprehension. It didn't help that she knew that he and Sirius Black were once best friends, what if he tried to help him get to Harry? What if getting close to Harry was just a ploy to get Harry to Sirius Black? She had been so lost and confused the last few days. She kept going back and forth about telling someone. She had considered the twins and Harry, but she could never bring herself to do it. What she knew was the kind of secret so personal that it could do irrevocable damage to Professor Lupin if she let it slip and she still wasn't sure if he was untrustworthy or not. She decided she wouldn't tell unless something was to happen that would deem telling appropriate. She remembered all too well how she felt when her boggart secret was revealed; no, she wouldn't do that to anyone.

Hermione looked around the common room, she hadn't been able to find Crookshanks all day today and it was raining outside. She hoped he hadn't gotten out of the castle. The boys also had practice so she was left alone in the common room with her homework. She was currently working on a potions essay about the property of properties of werewolves and their inclusion in potion making. She was beginning to think that Professor Snape wanted people to know. He seemed to be holding a grudge against Professor Lupin for a reason that Hermione couldn't figure out. She shook her head and turned back to her essay. She had to stop thinking about things she couldn't change.

She sat there in her favorite chair working diligently on her essay. She was almost done and she only needed a few more words and she would be finished with it. She heard someone approaching and then they cleared their throats. She looked up into the face of Neville Longbottom.

"Was their something you needed Neville?" She asked moving her eyes back to her essay finishing up it's conclusion before rolling it up and putting it into her sack.

Neville cleared his throat again, "Uh.. I was wondering, if maybe you had the time, you could help me with my potions essay?" his cheeks were pink and he was looking to the floor.

"Of course I would! You wouldn't mind helping me with Herbology, you seem to be my best bet for help on it."

Neville beamed down at her before pulling a chair a bit closer and curling up in the seat. They discussed plant properties and potion work until the boys returned from quidditch breaking the calm of the common room. They immediately made their way to the pair and surrounded them on the floor. The twins sat themselves on either side of their chairs and they spent the better part of the night on homework and conversation. For the first time Hermione felt truly comfortable at Hogwarts and she hoped this feeling didn't go away. Well that was until George Weasley opened his big mouth.

"Oi, Freddie look! Granger's wearing my present!" he said while a devious smile lit his face.

All the boys turned to Hermione only to see that same sweater she got for her birthday the red F emblazoned on her chest. Hermione blushed and mumbled something about being cold down in the common room. She didn't however mention the fact that Fred's sweater smelt rather good and made her feel like she was in a never-ending hug with him.

Fred's face was slightly pink as he turned to her and grinned. Something lit his eyes that Hermione couldn't seem to place but it gave her shivers. That was happening more often now and it was her easiest way of telling the twins apart. Fred gave her shivers and a fluttering in her stomach. George just made her feel safe and loved, like her dad would when she was home. She liked these feelings though and found herself drawn to the twins again and again. Harry was chuckling, Ron looked slightly red as well, though she had no idea why he would be. Lee was the one to speak though and his comment made her face turn the reddest it had ever been.

"Why Hermione, if I had known you looked so adorable in sweaters like those I would have given you one of mine." Fred gave him a discreet elbow to the side causing him to grimace, "On second thought I would have stolen another of Fred's and given it to you as I think an L just wouldn't look as nice.

George chuckled and rose, pulling Hermione to her feet. "Turn for us Granger, remember you promised to model for me." He gave her a cheeky grin and she hmphed at him but smiled as she turned her arms at her side.

Lee, Harry, Ron and George wolf whistled for her as she spun. Fred had a calculating look in his eyes and an odd smile on his face. "Now I want to see you do some poses." George declared and attempted to drag her closer to the fire. Hermione pouted and tugged her hand away.

"George that's embarrassing." She said and moved back towards the other boys. "I twirled, isn't that enough?"

"Never Granger." George said and Fred stood to help his twin.

"Come on Princess we just want a few poses and then you can go back to doing what you were doing." Fred said slinging his arm around Hermione waist.

"But Fred the whole common room is staring, can't I do that when there isn't 30 people looking at us? Please?" She asked giving him a pleading look. George saw his brother cracking under the pout and chuckled to himself.

Fred sighed, "Fine," Hermione smiled at him and he responded with a mischievous grin, "you have to promise to let us photograph those moments."

Hermione balked and the boys laughed at her expression, "Don't worry Granger, Fred'll pose with you, won't you Freddie?" Fred looked stunned and outraged, he launched himself at George and began a wrestling match. Hermione laughed and moved back to her chair, curling up and watching the twins reek havoc on the common room.

HGHGHGHG

Hermione's classes the next day seemed to go by swiftly but divination was driving her batty. She couldn't understand the fascination with such an unreliable practice. She shook her head and dove inside of an alcove for the last time that night and spun the time turner she didn't notice, though, that the hallway wasn't empty; and two people had followed wondering what she was up to.

HGHGHGHG

She had been dragged to the quidditch practice that night for a break from homework. She spent most of the time goofing off and commentating with Lee. She never got the moves right and started to make up names of her own. They were using the mic so more often than not the team heard her and would abruptly stop what they were doing and laugh at whatever new name she came up with. She had decided that night, that maybe quidditch wasn't so bad. She had gasped and covered her eyes as the boys swoop and dived. She watched, eyes riveted on the girls as the shot goal after goal and cheered as Oliver blocked most the shots. She loved watching the twins move with such practiced ease as the hit the bludger back and forth between them. She didn't understand why they kept aiming for Oliver though, she had thought that they were suppose to go mostly for the chasers. She never really thought just how enjoyable quidditch could be when you actually knew what was going on.

She still scolded them for doing dangerous things and causing her to worry. She received indulgent grins and insincere promises of never doing it again. She, Lee and Ron waited for them outside of the changing rooms and made the walk back to the castle with them. She was pulled in between the twins as they wrapped their arms around her waist and shoulder. She leaned into Fred and laughed as they told her horrible jokes. After a bit Oliver tried to pull her into a conversation but the twins turned it towards the Halloween party asking if she had decided on her costume for the night. Hermione frowned and shook her head asking if they had. The twins grinned.

"Of course we have!" George exclaimed, "Fred is going to be the Mad Hatter."

"George is the March Hare." Fred said giving her waist a squeeze.

"And you my dear will be our Alice." They intoned together as the smiled with cheshire grins.

Hermione's mouth gaped, "Why would you even ask if you already decided?"

"Well we just wanted to make sure you hadn't ruined our plans. We already ordered the costumes." George said pulling Lee over by the arm, earning him a disgruntled glare.

"I was busy over their you know." Lee said shrugging him off.

"Come now Lee you can talk to Katie later, we were merely wondering if you'd be keen on the idea of playing our Cheshire Cat on Halloween." Fred told him giving him an innocent smile.

"Of course I will, but whose going to be Alice?" Lee asked.

"Granger, don't you think she'd be perfect for it?" George asked winking at Lee. "After all who better to say the world through the looking glass is preposterous and stand up to the Red Queen?"

Hermione looked stunned for a moment before asking, "You've actually read that book?"

The twins and Lee scoffed before launching into a discussion about the book. Hermione shook their head as they discussed what exactly the caterpillar had been smoking. The walk back was filled with light conversation and laughing friends and the feeling of belonging settled into her stomach once again and the smile wouldn't leave her face as she drifted off to sleep thinking she couldn't wait to spend more time with Fred.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

It was the day before Halloween and all week Hermione had seen Fred, George and Lee smuggling different items into the common room. She had counted two cases of butterbeer, countless piles of candies and prank items. She shook her head; the party was going to be loud and boisterous she knew that for sure, but she was still slightly excited about spending almost the whole night with Fred… and George of course. She shook her head; her mind had been becoming more and more preoccupied with Fred lately. The Weasley Twins were now just Fred and George. Two identical, but completely separate beings, they must have gotten annoyed by the fact that their own mother can't tell them apart.

She let herself fall into a chair near the fire, someone had taken her favorite one and she just wasn't in the mood to argue over a silly chair. She let her mind drift back to Fred and George. They were some of the best people she could have ever wished to befriend. They were a bit greedy and a little too mischievous, but they had good hearts and cared about their friends and family before anything else. Everyone thought they were completely identical but they were wrong; there were subtle differences between them.

Yes they both had freckles but George had more on his right hand then his left. Fred had a small scar on his forehead; George had one on his jaw line. George tended to lean on people more and was almost always the first to throw an arm around someone's shoulder. The main difference between them for Hermione was the fact that Fred made her feel slightly dazed when he got a bit to close to her. She knew the twins were curious about how she could tell them apart. But sometimes she couldn't help but think that not being told apart by the people who call them friends and family must be slightly lonely.

She peered into the fire, mulling over her thoughts of Fred and George. She was by herself that night, sticking to the fire. Ron and Harry were off playing exploding snap with the other gryffindor boys and Fred, George and Lee were off with that map of theirs, doing Merlin knows what. She had finished her homework hours ago and had been working on translating that book that Fred gave her and hadn't been able to translate more than a few of the symbols. She was getting frustrated but she knew she needed a more extensive knowledge before she could actually do serious work on translating it. She had calculated she might be able to finish the translation in sixth year as long as she kept up with her ancient ruins homework.

She glanced at the clock it was only 9 o'clock, good she had an hour. She raised herself from the chair and said a quick goodbye to Harry and Ron before leaving from the portrait hole. She wanted to go for a walk and try and clear her mind. She had been thinking of so many things lately. Too much for her to handle really, and she could admit that but the problem was all the things she thought about she couldn't share, without getting someone into trouble. Her time turner was starting to effect her mood, she always felt a bit lethargic now. Professor Lupin was a werewolf, but she couldn't say anything. She knew who Sirius Black was to Harry, but she couldn't tell him that, it would break his heart. She worried over have the dementors so close to the castle, they effected Harry too much, and she couldn't defend against them, she didn't know how. It was horrible keeping these secrets and worrying over things she couldn't change. She wanted to have someone else to unload these burdens on, but at the moment she didn't know whom she could tell.

She shook her head, attempting to clear her mind of worries and troubles. It didn't work so she moved her thinking to Hogsmeade tomorrow and the party after. She was happy to be included for once. Fred and George had assumed that she would just be there, that she'd be laughing and dancing alongside them. That thought warmed her heart. She was thankful to have friends who assumed she wanted to have fun with them, that she could laugh and joke around when she wanted. She wondered if she the costume Fred and George chose would be appropriate. She hated to say it, but those two made her wonder at times.

With a fond smile on her lips she found herself at the entrance to the dungeon corridors. The Slytherins were down there and she knew it was a bad idea to be within ten feet of the entrance. She backed away slowly, tiptoeing so her shoes wouldn't make a sound on the floor. She started to hear laughter and low voices coming up the corridor from the dungeons. She began to panic, the Slytherins were coming and she had no idea what to do. She glanced around the room, no where to hide, if she ran they would hear and probably follow her. 'Come on Hermione, you can do this it'll be okay.' She could feel her heart pounding in her head and she pressed against the wall. Maybe they wouldn't see her? It was rather dark. Her breath stopped as a group of five boys turned into the entrance. She thought maybe if it was only two or three she could reprimand them and pretend to be a prefect. But these were all older boys, boys who knew far more horrid spells than she could ever dream of.

At first it seemed they hadn't noticed her pressed up against the wall, that was until one of them turned and his eyes landed on her. A slow smirked spread across his face, 'Oh sweet Circe, that's Marcus Flint!' her mind screamed. Her eyes darted to the other boys Terrence Higgs, Adrian Pucey, Avery and Theodore Nott's older brother, Ignatius. She was so screwed.

"Mudblood," Marcus drawled moving closer, "what are you doing wandering around down here?"

Hermione gritted her teeth and moved away from the wall, she wasn't going to be a coward. "I could ask the same thing Flint. Why are you leaving the Dungeons so close to curfew?"

Flint chuckled darkly and moved forward, putting his hand to his wand.

"Now, now Marcus. We must be nice to lost little kittens. She is such a cute one after all." Pucey moved forward and placed a hand on Flint's arm.

Flint snorted and shrugged him off, "Fine we'll not harm the kitten." He spat before moving back. Pucey began to approach her invading her space far more than was necessary. The placed a hand on her cheek and smiled in such a way that trill of fear shot down her spine. She realized, belatedly that Pucey was much more dangerous than Flint would ever be.

"Now kitten, tell me why are you, a Gryffindor, wandering so close to the dungeons?" His nails pressed into her cheek slightly and she shivered. "After all you have no reason to be here."

Hermione swallowed and steadied her voice before answering, "If you must know Pucey, I was walking. I hadn't meant to end up here. I was about to turn around when I heard you five come up the corridor."

Pucey smirked, "I have a hard time believing that since you hid from us. Tell me what little prank were you planning on pulling off, hmm?"

"I wasn't doing anything!" Hermione snapped and shoved his hand away.

Pucey glared down at her and went to move closer, but then Nott spoke up. "She's probably telling the truth Adrian. That's Granger, Gryffindor's little princess, never does anything bad. Never does anything fun either from what I've heard." Hermione glared at him, scoffing as he called her princess.

Flint and Pucey's eyes widened slightly in recognition, before Pucey chuckled. "Maybe she was looking for a Slytherin to have fun with, is that what you were hoping for Princess?"

Hermione growled low in her throat, "Like I'd ever do anything with the likes of you! And you lot are not allowed to call me Princess!" She shoved Pucey away, the shock causing him to stumble, she ran then. Taking off up the stairs and running down the corridor. She could here the Slytherins giving chase.

She had been running for five minutes now and they were still behind her, her sides had started to hurt and her breath was coming in short pants. She didn't think she could keep this up much longer. She turned a corner, yelping as someone snagged her arm and yanked her into a dark room. She was pressed up against someone chest and she tried to struggle away. She could hear the Slytherins pause in the corridor wondering where she went. She was pulled into the back of the room and she heard stone grinding against stone. She was moved into a lit corridor and pushed behind the person. The wall closed just as she heard Pucey yell for the Slytherins to search the classrooms.

Her eyes darted to the person who had grabbed her, shoulders sagging in relief as her eyes landed on Fred, George and Lee, only to tense again when she saw their glares.

"What one earth do you think you were doing?!" Fred exclaimed. "You're lucky we could cut you lot off and grab you when we did!"

"Really Hermione? Taking on Slytherin seventh years? How could you do something so careless?" Lee asked his face falling into a frown.

"Careless? You call that Careless?! That was suicidal!" Fred yelled and yanked Hermione towards him turning her face. "Look what they did to you." He whispered then, his voice harsh. "Which one did this?" He asked quietly now running his fingers across the marks on her cheek.

"Pucey." Hermione's voice was flat and steady as she said this. She hadn't meant to make anyone angry this night but she managed to piss off eight boys. Lucky her.

"Why were they chasing you Hermione?" George asked quietly his eyes on her bruised cheek.

"I was going for a walk, trying to clear my mind. I ended up near the dungeons, they were coming up from there commons and I tried to hide but I couldn't find a spot. Flint spotted me and Pucey decided that I was there to have some fun with the Slytherins. I pushed him off and ran."

Fred make a grunt and Lee choked on his breath, George looked murderous as he spoke, "What do you mean 'push him off'? He was on top of you?!" His fist connected with the stone of the wall and a wince covered his face.

"No! no… he was just in my space a bit." Hermione looked down, tears forming in her eyes "I didn't mean to cause trouble, it was just bad timing."

"You shouldn't be out at night like this alone, it's dangerous Hermione." Lee said placing a hand on her shoulder. "You know we're lucky we found you right?"

Hermione nodded and buried her head into Fred's chest. "Can we not talk about it anymore, I got away and everyone is fine. Let's just worry about the party tomorrow." She said turning so her cheek was pressed into Fred's sternum. His heartbeat soothing her frazzled nerves.

The boys nodded and Fred wrapped his arm around her waist and began to walk them down the small corridor. "What is this place?" Hermione asked and the boys explained how they had discovered this passageway last year when they were trying to figure out things about the chamber. Hermione gave an involuntary shiver at the thought of the chamber and Fred's grip tightened pulling her closer than before.

It took them ten minutes before they got back to the common room. Fred released his hold telling her to go up stairs and get ready for bed. Lee and George had already seated themselves around the fire and began to discuss the party.

FWFWFWFW

Fred looked at them giving them a smile, he knew that they were giving him a moment to be alone with her and for that we was grateful. He watched her ascend the stairs before moving to sit on the other end of the couch from his brother. One of the 6th year girls placed herself next to him and he ignored her batting eyes and pouting lips. She tittered on and on, Fred was getting irritated and by the looks of it so was George. The girl leaned forward and placed a hand on his chest.

"George I heard the funniest thing today, someone told me that you were going to dress up as a set with that Granger girl, is that just hilarious Geo-" She began but was cut off by and irritated voice. Fred turned his head only to spot Hermione, dressed in his sweater and pajamas looking irate.

"If your going to hit on them try and make sure you have the right one, HE," Hermione said pointing to Fred. "Is FRED and HE is GEORGE. Now if you would please move YOU are in MY SPOT." She finished, her hip cocking off to the side. They knew that pose, Hermione was one wrong sentence away from angry lecture mode.

The girl scoffed and moved closer to Fred, "I'm sure Fred doesn't mind if I sit here, besides who are you to claim this seat as yours?" The girl sneered at Hermione "You're just a little third year swot. Why would they sit with you, when they can sit with me?" She leaned back against the couch, crossing her legs.

Hermione's face was red by the time the girl finished and the boys were clenching their fists. Before any of them could speak up for Hermione her mouth flew open to deliver one of the most impressive speeches they had heard in awhile. "Listen here you insipid, egotistical little Bint! You have no right to speak for them! You can't even tell which is which! No wonder they don't date anyone! You can't even take the time to try and tell them apart! They are TWO DIFFERENT people! What do you think because you've got fake top bits and a glamoured bum they're going to want to be around you even when you call them the wrong names? NO! they aren't. And I CAN speak for them because they are my FRIENDS. I know which is Fred and which is George. I can speak to one without confusing them for the other. I spent THREE years trying to figure it out because it drove me bloody insane! And if you think you can sit there and flirt with one while calling them the others name while I'm standing here you have another thing coming! I'm so sick of the vapid girls like you in this school! If you think I'll stand here and let you belittle them like that you have another thing coming!" Hermione reached forward snatching the girl's hand, which had curled into Fred's shirt, and yanked her up off the couch and depositing her on the floor. Hermione sat down between Fred and George as they moved closer and wrapped there arms around her shoulders and waist. Lee was clapping and whistling between laughs.

Fred looked down and smirked at the girl, "This will be her spot for a very, very long time and you are not welcome to it, ever." Hermione giggled and leant into him causing Fred's smirk bloom into a smile as he looked down at her.

Fred watched the girl growl and stomp off. "I think you made an enemy Granger." His brother said as he squeezed her shoulders.

Lee had stopped clapping, "I couldn't help but notice that you didn't stop to breathe until the end there, Hermione." Her face flushed and as Fred laughed with his brother.

Fred curled his hand into the sweater and he tightened his arm around her waist, "That's how she gets when she's angry like that." The boys laughed together and they moved the conversation onto the Hogsmeade trip tomorrow. Fred made Hermione promise to let him give her a tour of the place and then go to the Three Broomsticks with all of them for lunch. He watched as she laughed and looking as if her troubles were forgotten. His arm tingled with a warmth he had never experienced before, he would tighten his grip every now and then, as if to let her know it was still there. He began to cast glances at her as her eyes drifted close. He smiled softly as she fell asleep. After a short while he scooped her up in his arms and kicked the railing on the girl's stairs before making his way up them. He smiled as he placed her in bed laying a kiss to her forehead and tucking her in.

HGHGHGHG

Hermione woke up the next morning in her dorm room, not knowing how she got there. She looked at her clock; it was 9 in the morning. It was time to get ready for breakfast and Hogsmeade. Hermione flipped the covers off her body and moved out of bed, moving to the bathroom for a quick shower. When her shower ended she realized she had forgotten her clothes. Hermione left the bathroom pulling on jeans and a T-shirt. Glancing around the room she couldn't find any of her sweaters. She dug and dug but she didn't manage to find any sweaters but the one George gave her. Growling in frustration she quickly casting a freshening charm on the fabric and yanked it over her t-shit. She grabbed her scarf and made her way down to the common room.

Her eyes moved around and fell on Harry. He looked quite upset and Hermione knew that he didn't have his slipped signed. Ron was trying to convince him to go anyway or ask McGonagall to sign it for him. Hermione shook her head telling Ron it wouldn't work. She turned to Harry and asked him if there was anything he wanted from the village. Harry smiled and shook his head. Hermione merely grinned and promised him a few things from each of the most popular stores. She began to walk off before Ron stopped her, grabbing her wrist.

"Where are you going? Aren't we leaving together?" He asked her.

Hermione frowned, "Well you didn't ask and Fred, George and Lee did so I'm going with them."

Ron scowled, "I figured we would go see the village together."

"Yes well they asked me to go and I said yes. Besides we have to get our costumes anyway." Hermione turned then leaving a spluttering Ron behind her. Her walk to the Great Hall was filled with chatter and noisy giggling of the girls waiting for their dates. She rolled her eyes as she walked into the great hall. She spotted Fred, George and Lee leaning up against the wall waiting by the table. Hopeful looking girls surrounded them, the sight causing Hermione to laugh as she moved towards the boys. She moved forward and stopped in front of them. They boys immediately latched onto her, dragging her off with whispered words of adoration and thanks for saving them. They sat at the table and tucked in for breakfast telling Hermione again about the wonders of Hogsmeade. They told her stories of past trips and failed attempts of sneaking into the Hogshead bar. Hermione grinned as the boys became animated. She really liked mornings like this.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The village was bustling with students and adults alike; Hermione felt her eyes drawn from one storefront to the another. They were all full of advertisments and styled in a unique fashion; as she took in the bigger picture of the lane, all of these odd places just seemed to fit, as if they been made to stand next to each other. Fred and George had their arms wrapped around her and were pulling her to the costume shop to pick up the costume they had convinced her to wear. She was feeling almost euphoric as the crowded streets of Hogsmeade fueled the adrenaline in her veins.

She spotted a few shops she'd love to see for herself. There was even a second hand shop whose windows were filled with gadgets she didn't even recognize. Fred saw her wandering eye and smiled down at her promising that they could go to any shop she wanted before lunch. She smiled up at him leaning into his side, her face flushing. She had realized last night after the encounter with the Slytherins that what she felt for Fred Weasley was more than just a simple flutter of her heart every time he smiled. She wouldn't call it love, she knew she was a bit to young to call what she felt that, though she knew in a few years it could turn into love, and that thought thrilled her to no end.

She had decided she was infatuated, but she wasn't sure if he felt the same way. Sure he would touch her sometimes and smile a certain way, but George did too, she knew they weren't the same person even though they had similar mannerisms. Her mind drifted off as Lee and George talked excitedly about all the places they wanted to show her that day. She was only half listening and nodding her head when they would ask her if she wanted to see certain things. Her mind moved back to the night before and that horrid girl who had decided to put her hands on Fred. She didn't realize it then but she was angry with the girl for touching Fred in such a familiar way. That girl didn't have the right to even talk to Fred if she couldn't be bothered to learn his name first.

She gave her head a light shake and turned her ear to the conversation as they entered the costume shop. She hated to admit it, but she felt giddy to be dressing up with Fred, George and Lee. Harry and Ron were her best friends but she was happy to know she had other friends now, ones she could count on. The three boys had kept quiet about her run-in with the Slytherins. Though they promised her retribution 'Weasley Twin style' as they put it. She saw what happened to the girls from her dorm and she shuddered to think of what they would do to those boys.

They approached the counter and a young man turned to greet them, a large smile spreading across his face.

"Why hello there! Happy Halloween, are you looking for costumes today?" He asked as he moved from behind the counter.

"Actually we already owled in what we needed. We're the Alice in Wonderland group." Lee said as reached forward to shake the man's hand.

"Ah! Some of my favorites that I made!" He ushered them to a sofa and moved off to the backroom as they sat down. They sat quietly discussing where they should go next and Hermione mentioned the second hand shop she had seen. The boys grinned at her and Fred squeezed her waist.

"Whatever the Princess desires," George said with a grin letting his arm fall from her shoulder as he leaned forward. Hermione didn't fail to notice Fred's grip remained on her waist, maybe there was some hope for her after all.

The shopkeeper came out with four garment bags in hand, "Now I need you all to go and try these on so I can make sure they fit properly. Now which boy is which character?" He asked as he handed Hermione her bag.

"Oi!" George said. "How do you know I wasn't suppose to be Alice?" he asked winking at the man.

"While I'm sure you'd look lovely in a little blue dress, I'm quite certain that this young lady is much shorter than the measurements you gave me for the others." He replied giving George a cheeky wink as the others chuckled. George went slightly red.

"I'm the March Hare, my twin, Fred, is the Mad Hatter and Lee over there is the Cheshire cat," He said as he took the bag from the man. They stood and moved into the gestured rooms and began to get dressed. Hermione struggled a bit with her costume because it had old-fashioned buttons up the back. She finally called for help and George came over and buttoned up her dress as quick as he could, Hermione heard him chuckling as he went back into his designated area. She frowned wondering what it could be about. She finally managed to get the stockings and maryjanes on her feet. She looked back to the bag and grabbed the apron frowning when something fell out only to look down and seeing a small top hat with an Ace of Hearts sticking out from it. She placed it slightly off to the side using the pins to set it in place. Looking to the mirror she twirled a smile blooming on her face. The dress was quite lovely and such a wonderful shade of blue. She felt very comfortable and decided being Alice suited her well. Hermione moved out of the changing room and waited for the boys.

They emerged, all of them looking quite good in their costumes. Fred's costume was an old-fashioned suit with tails. He had his top hat on and was attaching the pocket watch to the jacket when he glanced up and let his eyes meet hers. His face flushed slightly and he looked down. Hermione smiled at him and rocked back onto her heels, fiddling with her fingers. George beamed at her before grabbing her hand and placing a kiss on it, giving her a cheeky wink. Lee mimicked the action and no one saw Fred's face go just a touch redder. Hermione laughed and pulled her hands back.

"Well don't you boys look handsome," She said gesturing to Fred's suit and George's rabbit ears and hat. Lee, she noticed, seemed to fit the Cheshire cat better than even the twin's would. His eyes were glittering with mischief as he moved to stand by the twins. He was in a suit similar to the twins only it had alternating purple stripes. She glanced at all of the boys and decided they fit their costumes very well.

George smiled at her and wrapped an arm around Fred's shoulder, "Why thank you Princess, I must say, though, I don't think I've ever seen a more lovely Alice."

Fred cleared his throat and smiled at her then, "You're right George, good thing we knew the perfect girl for the part then huh?"

Hermione smiled, a light blush dusting her cheeks. The shopkeeper came back and began to adjust different bits that needed altering, before letting them go back into the rooms and change. They paid for their costumes and Hermione couldn't help but wonder how Fred and George afforded them. When she asked, blushing and stuttering, they gave her easy smiles and told her that they sold things that they invented to people, they also got money from placing bets on certain things. Hermione gave them a reprimanding look at that and they smiled and tucked her back between them. As they left the shop she could have sworn she heard George mention something about 'buttons' and 'red faces', making Lee burst out in laughter. She looked between the boys and shook her head smiling, at least her life wouldn't be boring anymore. Hermione felt herself grin as the boys moved her off towards the shop she had mentioned earlier, making her promise that Zonko's would be the next shop

She looked at the sign above the door reading 'Ollander's Second Hand Wonders'. She went through the door, Fred following close behind. They spent nearly an hour exploring the shop, the boys admitting they had never stopped in before. The shelves were full of old crystal balls, cauldrons, books, scales, and oddly shaped objects. Some things were even glowing; others would admit a stream of music. One quill she found, that was a beautiful shade of jade, would make suggestions as she wrote with it. She may have bought it had it not told her she needed a better plot line. She realized then that it was meant for someone who wrote books. As she dug around the shop she noticed and old dusty book tucked back into a corner of a shelf nearly buried under a tall stack of old, withered photos and parchment. She smiled and blew the dust of after she pried if from the pile. The title was illegible and her brow quirked in confusion; she flipped it open and realized it was a translation guide to some of the ruins that had been giving her problems in the book she had gotten for her birthday. She moved to the front of the shop and quickly purchased the book. The boys stood at the door waiting for her. It looked as though they each had bought something. They left the store calling back a 'Happy Halloween' to the store clerk and headed off down the street to Zonko's.

The store was packed as they entered and Hermione found herself squished against Fred and they made their way through the shop. Fred gripped her hand and began to pull her to different shelves full of trick sweets and prank gadgets. He would go on about all the individual uses of each item and how they could be improved. Hermione felt herself grinning like a fool at his happy face. She had never seen him so completely animated before and it was a pleasing sight. She could see the gleam of intelligence and creativity in his eye as he described the different way they could improve things.

"Maybe you should," she said suddenly.

Fred turned to her, stopping his rant on fake wands, looking confused. "What do you mean Hermione?"

"I bet you, George and Lee would be brilliant at this sort of stuff. Your pranks are always more and more creative. You said yourself you invent stuff, so why not improve on out of date pranking supplies?" She asked raising an eyebrow slightly. "After all who better to help beginning pranksters than Fred and George Weasley? I think you could do it."

Fred beamed down at her and then suddenly crushed her in a tight hug, holding her slightly longer than appropriate before releasing a very flushed Hermione. "Thank you," he breathed reaching over to squeeze her hand. "That means a lot coming from someone as brilliant as you."

Hermione blushed and could only nod her head, her mind still in shock from Fred hugging her. Fred grinned and pulled her to another shelf after grabbing a few things and placing them in the basket she was holding. They spent another half an hour in the store before they decided that it was time to move on to Honeyduke's. Hermione made sure to grab Harry some things from Zonko's before they made their own purchases. The boys raised and eyebrow at the pranking material and she only smiled sweetly and said they were for Harry. The boys scoffed and began to poke fun at her secret mischievous side. They laughed good-naturedly until they reached the doors to Honeyduke's.

Hermione entered the shop and immediately headed to a large display of different flavored suckers. Fred grinned and followed her over.

"Do you like these then?" Fred asked as he picked through the different flavors.

"Yeah, I don't get to eat them much because my parents don't like me eating too much sugar. But I like to indulge myself sometimes," she replied as she grabbed suckers from each jar, gripping them in her hands. "They have so many different flavors here." She murmured and smiled as she saw Fred grab a few suckers of his own. He motioned toward another part of the store as they finished looking through the suckers.

Hermione turned and saw the display for Halloween Chocolates and smiled as she followed Fred. He looked quite giddy as they approached and immediately grabbed a couple of chocolates from one of the containers. He turned to her smiling, popping one into his mouth. Hermione watched, a tad bit mesmerized, as his eyes slid shut in pleasure and a sigh escaped his mouth.

"These are my very favorites, they only sell them around Halloween, though. They're dark chocolate and filled with this citrus cream stuff that's just amazing," he said and held out the other for her to try. She glanced at his hand and then lifted her own, bringing his attention to her sucker filled hands. Fred chuckled and brought the candy to her mouth, his cheeks tinged pink. Hermione leaned forward and took the candy from his fingers. Fred smiled at her and chuckled as she sighed with pleasure at the taste.

"Those are amazing," she told him with a grin. She looked up to the price and her smile fell. "They are also very expensive."

Fred grinned, "Yeah, but Mr. Honeyduke always lets me have a couple for free every year."

Hermione smiled at the store owners kindness and they moved to another display. They sampled the different sweets they were allowed to and decided that it was probably time to go to the Three Broomsticks for lunch. As they went to purchase their sweets, Hermione saw Fred glance back at the chocolate display; she smiled, a brilliant idea coming to mind. Her mother always said a way to a man's heart was through his stomach.

"Hold on guys! I have to go grab something I forget to get for Harry. Why don't you guys go wait outside?" Hermione said and nudged them to the counter.

"No it's fine Hermione, I'll go with you." Fred said moving towards her.

"No, no that's fine Fred, just go with George and Lee and I'll meet you guys outside alright?" Hermione said and anxious grin spreading across her face.

"Now, now Fred. I'm sure Granger can handle a little trip a few shelves down all by herself." George said wrapping and arm around his brother's shoulders and dragging a protesting Fred to the counter. He turned and winked back at Hermione, a knowing look on his face. Hermione smiled and ran back to the chocolate display. She dropped her suckers on the shelf and grabbed two half-pound boxes of the chocolates. She'd only have enough money left for lunch, but she figured that making Fred smile like he did earlier was worth every knut.

HGHGHGHG

They sat in the Three Broomsticks and Hermione sipped at her butterbeer. She found she preferred it better when it was cold than warm, so George switched with her, not really having a preference. The waitress that came to their table had immediately commenced in flirting with the boys. Hermione was pleased to see that Fred didn't flirt with girl at all. She felt her chest grow warm and didn't even feel slightly annoyed that the waitress only remembered she was there when Lee reminded her. She ordered a sandwich and hot chips along with another cold butterbeer. She couldn't help but smirk at the slightly jealous look she received from the waitress as she left their table.

They chatted through lunch discussing last minute decorating ideas for the party. Fred and George had enlisted a few seventh year boys to help with the transfiguration. Hermione mentioned that if they wanted to get everything done and still have enough time to get ready they should probably head back soon. The boys groaned with reluctance.

"If you didn't want to have to leave so early maybe you shouldn't have planned such a lavish party," Hermione said with a light smirk on her face. The boys glared playfully at her and George snatched her remaining chips.

"Hey that's mine!" she cried reaching for the crispy little wonders of fried potato.

George slapped her hand, "Mean girls don't get treats like this," he said with a playful grin as he munched on her food.

Fred sighed and pushed his basket towards her, he had ordered quite a bit of food and was happily full. Hermione looked down at the basket that had more chips left in it than her own did. She smiled smugly at George as she bit it to the fluffy chip in her hand. George and Lee cooed over Fred's act of kindness before they finished up their meals and Hermione's stolen chips.

On their way back to the castle, Oliver and Ron caught up to them and commenced in trying to pull Hermione into a conversation. Oliver even asked if she wanted to go and get some Ice cream with him. She smiled politely thanking him for the offer but shook her head saying it was to cold for ice cream right now. Oliver blushed and mumbled a 'Happy Halloween' to her before walking off back to the village. Ron was more persistent and kept trying to sneak her bag from Honeyduke's. Hermione finally snapped at him for trying to snag her things and stalked off. Ron scoffed at her retreating figure and ran back into the village.

During the walk back to Gryffindor tower, Fred spent most his time trying to get rid of Hermione's irritation; he smiled when he succeeded in making her laugh with a lame muffin joke he had once heard from an American that had come to work with his father for awhile. He draped his arm around her shoulder as they walked behind Lee and George who were planning some prank or another.

The castle was nearly empty as most of the students were down in Hogsmeade right now. They enjoyed the quiet walk back to the tower. As they walked to the portrait hole Hermione quickly made her way to the stairs. Before going up, though, she called Fred over to her.

"Yeah Hermione?" he asked moving in front over her.

She handed him the bag from Honeyduke's and stood on her tiptoes placing a soft kiss on his cheek. "Thank you," she whispered before turning and bolting up the stairs with the rest of her bags. She went to her bed and smiled at the garment bag that had been owled up to the tower for her. She didn't know as she got ready that she had left a dumbfounded and giddy Fred to stand at the base of the stairs, hand on his cheek, whispering a quiet your welcome five minutes after she disappeared.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Fred was shaken from his mental fog as a loud crash was heard across the room. His giddy smile still in place he looked over to the right, only to see George and Lee covered in a green slime, laughing boisterously. He made his way to them and they immediately latched on him. He grimaced feeling the green slime soak through his clothes. George lifted a hand and smeared the goo across his cheek and into his hair.

"Urg, blimey George, was that really necessary?" He asked wiping his face clean.

"Course it was! Give you some incentive to take a shower. After all, we must smell nice for Granger right?" George said waggling his eyebrows.

Fred blushed slightly and cleared his throat; "George lay off will you?" He asked moving towards the boys' dorm, Honeyduke's bag still in his hand.

"Never!" George called as he and Lee made their way up behind them. The boys were pleased by the results of the common room. The seventh years had done wonders with the transfiguration jobs. The common room was a regular haunted hideaway now. Their dorm was quiet as they entered since none of their other roommates had come back from Hogsmeade. Fred, seeing the empty room, began to pace, wringing his hands in a nervous gesture. He began to mutter to himself, his pace getting steadily more frantic.

"Fred!" George shouted and he jumped, turning to his brother.

"Yes George?" He asked, his eyes darting back and forth.

"I was calling you for awhile there, brother. What's wrong mate?" George asked his face dropping in concern.

"It's Hermione." Fred stated and pulled at his hair.

Lee twisted onto his stomach and placed his chin in his hands, "What about her Fred?"

"Do you- Do you think she could," He paused and bit his lips. "Would it even be possible for her to like me as more than a friend?"

George frowned at his brother, "What kind of question is that?" He asked tossing a pillow at Fred, smacking him in the stomach. "Of course she could! You're a great catch and I'm not just saying that because you're my twin."

Lee nodded his head and smiled up at Fred with a wink, "Pretty sure she already does."

Fred's mouth dropped and he choked on his saliva, "What?" He squeaked.

Lee chuckled, "I will admit that she is affectionate and gives out hugs like candy, she pays equal amounts of attention to everyone really, but she's always a bit funny when you're around. She smiles more, laughs more and turns that lovely shade of pink every time you say anything even remotely flirtatious. Plus there's the whole kissing you on the cheek and buying you something."

Fred's face and neck were a bright red and he coughed into his hand, clearing his throat. "You saw that did you?"

"I'm pretty sure the whole bloody common room saw you standing there for five minutes holding your cheek, Fred." George said and moved to lean his back against the headboard, tossing his feet and legs across Lee's back.

Lee grunted at the impact, "Watch it Weasley!" He growled and shifted a bit to be more comfortable, "Listen Fred, I'm almost positive that she has at least a small crush on you, and you can definitely work with a crush right?"

Fred smiled as he nodded eagerly, "I can deal with that easily."

"What'd she buy you anyway?" George inquired, gesturing the bag still clutched tightly in his hand.

Fred blushed again before moving to sit on the bed with George and Lee. He peered into the bag, staring for a second before a soft, tender smile stretched across her face. "I'm going to kiss her, then I'm going to bloody murder her for spending this much on me." He said his voice soft, holding a tender affectionate note than neither George or Lee had ever heard him use before.

George frowned and moved forward peering into the bag, "Blimey! She bought two of those buggers?" Fred nodded and pulled both boxes out of the bag. He hadn't been lying when he said this was his favorite kind of sweet.

Lee beamed at Fred as he saw the boxes, "I told you mate! The bird is mad for you!"

Fred blushed and hope lit in is eyes, "I hope so." He whispered.

Fred pulled out his wand and muttered stasis and cooling charms over the boxes before locking them in his trunk for safe keeping. These chocolates were going to last him awhile, he was determined not to waste Hermione's gift. After he was finished he grabbed his garment bag and began to get dressed. He was determined to make this party perfect for Hermione. Nothing was going to go wrong if he could help it.

FWFWFWFW

Fred stood in the common room with George and Lee, they were waiting for their Alice to descend the stairs. He had heard Lavender and Parvati practically squealing over how cute she looked. He kept his eyes trained on the stairs excited to see her all dressed up. Sure they had seen her in the shop earlier. But this was different.

His breath left him in a soft gasp as she appeared at the top of the stairs. She didn't look any different than she had at the shop, but this time a spark of excitement glittered in her eyes as she descended the stairs. He approached the steps only to be cut off by Oliver dressed up as a white knight. He growled in his throat as Oliver grabbed Hermione's hand. He clenched his fists tightly when Oliver spoke.

"Hermione, I was wondering if you'd go to the feast and after party with me?" Oliver asked.

Hermione looked shock for a second and then smiled at Oliver, "I'm sorry but I already have a date." She said as she pulled her hand back gently. Fred's jaw dropped, when did she get a date? Why didn't she tell them? Oliver frowned and then smiled at her, "Perhaps another time then lass?" He said before giving her a charming grin and walking off with a less than happy face.

"Perhaps…"Hermione mumbled before a large grin bloomed across her face, "Fred! Are you ready to get to the feast?" She asked grabbing his arm.

Fred frowned. "What about your date Hermione?" he grumbled petulantly.

Hermione chuckled softly and grinned up at him causing a shiver to race down his back, "Well I assumed that was you." She blushed and before quickly adding, "George and Lee."

Fred grinned brightly then and wrapped a slightly possessive arm around her shoulders. He maneuvered them across the room and to the portrait hole. He looked down to see Hermione blushing and smiling. His own face turning pink as she leant into his side. He knew he would never tire of the feeling that gave him. When they arrived back at George and Lee's sides, Harry and Ron were standing there along with a few other people. They all seemed a bit stunned at her transformation until Harry pulled her into a hug and out of Fred's grip. Fred frowned slightly at this but let it go as he saw the happy grin on Harry's face.

"Mione! You look amazing, the perfect Alice in Wonderland!" He gripped her hand and made her do a twirl for them.

The other boys nodded in agreement and Hermione stood there blushing again. She did that so easily Fred noted and smiled at her before pulling her back towards him, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. His heart jumped when her arm wrapped itself around his waist.

They chatted with the others for a bit before making their way through the portrait. He had to admit that their group seemed to be the best-dressed ones he had seen so far. Harry was dressed simply in a cloak and all black, transfigured fangs protruding from his mouth. Ron walked awkwardly, fittingly dressed as The Scarecrow. He grinned as Ron scratched his neck, grumbling about the straw itching. He saw many unique and cliché costumes. He was pleased to see, as they entered the great hall, that not one other person had dressed as they had.

He looked down at Hermione, giving her a questioning look as she scoffed. She motioned toward the Slytherin table, he followed her gesture and spotted Malfoy and Parkinson dressed up as prince and princess. He chuckled and shook his head as Hermione muttered how conceited that costume was. He sat them down, putting Hermione at the very end of the table. He refused to let anyone but him sit at her side this night.

Lee and George sat across from them and they began to talk excitedly about all the goodies that they would get tonight, they even speculated about the surprise that the teachers had planned. Fred's hand stayed firmly around Hermione shoulder and he would whisper commentary on people's costumes. He loved to make her chuckle; it was a breathy and soft sound that made his stomach tighten when he would hear it. He liked the fact that Hermione wasn't a giggler. The girls that giggled all the time gave him the worst headaches. He scowled at the knowing looks that George and Lee would send him when Hermione wasn't looking at them.

The feast was lively and everyone was having a great time. Fred couldn't keep the smile off his face as he listened to Hermione lecture them on cavities and too much sugar, before mentioning her own sweet tooth. He delighted in the blush that spread across his face. He decided then and there that a blushing Hermione was his favorite Hermione he had seen so far.

He had snatched up as many suckers from the table as he could stuff into the various pockets of his suit. "George, Lee, grab a bunch of these for me would you?" He asked motioning to the suckers. The other boys grinned and followed suit before asking why.

Fred chuckled, "Princess Alice here has a soft spot for them and she didn't get a chance to get any in Hogsmeade today."

Hermione smiled at Fred lifting her hand to the one on his shoulder and giving it a squeeze. "Thank you."

Fred smiled at her and laced his fingers lightly with hers. He winked down at her before dropping a kiss to her forehead. "Anything for you love." Hermione ducked her head and went back to eating her meal as Fred gave a throaty chuckle at her reaction.

When the students had finished their meal and the plates were cleared, Dumbledore stood up.

"Now students, this year the teachers and I have put together a little hunt." He waved his wand and the tables were cleared; with another flick, a large amount of candies appeared on the table. "Now on one of these tables there is a special sweet. This sweet is a lemon drop wrapped in a gold and orange wrapper. There is only one. The first team to bring it to me shall win a special prize." Excited chatter buzzed through the hall and Fred turned to grin at the others. They had this in the bag. "Now no table is off limits to anyone, and anyone can search whatever table they choose.

On the count of three children. One. Two. Three!" Sparks shot out of his wand and the student pounced on the tables like a pack of lion to their prey.

Fred dug frantically around the table, bumping arms with Hermione, who was picking up one piece at a time before chucking it behind her on the floor, they had been searching for almost five minutes now and they hadn't seen a sign of it yet.

Hermione mumbled quietly to herself, "I don't see why we don't use magic."

Fred grinned before smacking a kiss to her cheek, "Your brilliant, Dumbledore never said we couldn't!" He pulled out his wand and whispered, "Accio Halloween Lemon Drop!" A small object whizzed into his hand from the Slytherin table and he ran up to the head table, dragging a stunned Hermione with him.

"Found it Professor!" He called as he darted up the steps.

"Ah! Well done Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger!" He flicked his wand and the candy disappeared, the students who hadn't notice the commotion looked to the front in confusion before their faces dropped in disappointment. "The candy has been found!" He called before he took the Lemon Drop from Fred and unwrapped it, placing in it his mouth with a smile.

Fred grinned up at the Professor and squeezed Hermione's hand, she jumped and looked up to the Headmaster. "What do we win?" Fred asked bouncing in excitement.

Dumbledore chuckled before he pulled out two pieces of parchment and handed them to Fred, "Those will allow you and a friend to indulge in 30 galleons each, worth of Honeyduke's sweets." Fred pumped his fist in the air at the other students cheered. He could here George and Lee shouting out to him about them sharing. Fred chuckled and the Headmaster called for the students to return to their dorms for the festivities that they had planned themselves. Fred moved them back to George and Lee where hugs were given out and the boys congratulated Hermione for her stroke genius.

"It's not that big of a deal! Honestly, I was just thinking out loud." Hermione said as Fred moved their held hands to wrap his arm around her shoulder keeping them intertwined. He wondered if Hermione had noticed that they were still holding hands. A large part of him was hoping it was a resounding 'YES!'.

He found himself staring at her lips quite a bit as they walked back the common room. He couldn't help but wonder what it would feel like to kiss her. Would they feel as soft as they had on his cheek? Would she let him snog her when they did kiss? He liked the thought of snogging Hermione, mussing up her already wild hair, maybe even getting to place a few choice marks on her neck in places that other boys could see. 'Maybe then they'd stop staring at her!' he thought with a growl as he shot a glare at a boy who hadn't stopped looking at Hermione. The boy turned away quickly and Fred smirked before turning his attention back to the conversation.

"We have tons of games set up in the common room!" George exclaimed after Hermione had inquired after the activities. "Bobbing for Apples, Pin the wing to the Bat, Guess what this is, Truth or dare and my personal favorite Spin the Bottle! What do say Princess, wanna spin the bottle with me?" George asked waggling his eyebrows.

Hermione burst out laughing and patted George's arm before giving him a sweet smile, "In your dreams Georgie!" George pouted and clutched his chest.

"Oi! That cut me right here Granger! You can be quite the mean little bird sometimes." He said giving her a cheeky wink.

Hermione shook her head and gave him a light shove, "Well why should I play with you when I can play with the better looking twin instead?" Hermione nudged Fred in his side and Fred blushed squeezing her hand.

"That's right Gred! She'd rather play with me!" Fred said wrapping her up in his grip as they reached the portrait hole.

Hermione leaned back and smiled at George, "You're crushing my dreams!" George called out pulling his face into mock despair.

"I'm so sorry George, I know that your love for her will never die, but she decided she wanted a nicer looking bloke. Besides she's a bit too smart for you!" Fred said sticking his tongue out at his brother.

"That's it! You evil twin! I'll duel you for her! She will be mine!" George called out, cackling madly before brandishing his wand with a laugh.

Fred let go of Hermione, letting his hands linger on her shoulders before he pulled out his wand, "The prize brother?" He asked with a smirk.

"A kiss from the fair maiden!" George said swinging his wand like a sword. People had stopped to see Fred and his brother play around in front of the portrait. They called insults and made jokes, their wands clashing, sparks flying out. Hermione and Lee were bent over, clinging to each other in laughter. Fred's grin couldn't get any wider. He was with his favorite girl, his brother and best friend, playing and laughing. Life didn't get better than this. He finally lunged at George poking him in the chest with his wand.

"Brother! You killed me! Curse you, stealing the love of my life then slaying me for her!" George called out dramatically clutching his chest, he gave a few gasps and Fred rushed forward, dropping to his knees.

"I'm sorry brother! But I just couldn't help it! I am the better looking twin after all!" Fred let out loud and obviously fake sobs.

George chuckled lightly before clutching Fred's sleeve, "Don't worry brother, but I shall miss you!" He gave began to gasp and cough before giving a fake retching noise and pretending to die. Hermione ran towards Fred and wrapped her arms around him.

"My savior! You killed that evil man for me! However shall I repay you?" Hermione asked her voice falling into a horribly fake and vapid sounding tone.

"Well Princess, I can think of a few things." He said waggling his eyebrows with a lecherous smirk, before scooping Hermione up and tossing her over his shoulder. He made sure to hold down her skirt as he walked her to the portrait hole. He laughed as she flailed at his back, demanding to be put down. Applause rang out behind them as the four students entered into the common room for a night of fun and games.

FWFWFWFW

Fred pulled Hermione to center of the room before turning to her, "What do you wanna play first?" He asked gesturing to all the games they had set up.

He watched her scan the room before her eyes landed on the 'Pin the wing on the Bat' Game. She smiled and said, "That one should be fun."

They made their way through the crowd of people and stopped in front of the game. Fred grabbed a blindfold and deftly wrapped and tied it over Hermione's eyes.

She turned in his direction and spoke with a smirk on her face, "You're a bit to good at that Fred."

Fred blushed and chuckled, "George and I used to tie up Ron and put him in different places until mum found him."

Hermione laughed and shook her head, "That's horrible Fred!"

Fred nudged her shoulder; "We never put him anywhere bad, just the pantry and different closets, not our fault they're full of bloody spiders!"

Hermione laughed and Fred began to twirl her around getting her dizzy. He finally stopped and caught her as she stumbled. "Watch it now!" He said with a laugh, carefully placing the wing in her hand and nudging her forward.

He watched as she stumbled to the poster on the wall and fumbled around for a bit before she placed the wing. He laughed as she removed her blindfold and scowled at the wing. She had placed it on the poor bat's face! "Nice one Hermione!" He said patting her on the back.

She gave him a playful glare, "Let's see you do better then!" She took the blindfold and tied it around his eyes. She began to make him spin and Fred was having trouble concentrating as her soft hands touched his chest and back. This just wasn't fair for him. She placed the wing in his hand and pushed him lightly towards the poster. Disoriented and stumbling Fred fumbled around before he stuck the pin. He heard he laughter before he even removed the blindfold. He quickly wretched it off and stared gobsmacked at the wing. He had missed the poster! He frowned and then began to laugh loudly and moved toward Hermione wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"It's safe to say we both lose I think!" They laughed together as they glanced around the room. He spotted George and Lee heading toward the Apple Bobbing game. He grinned down at Hermione "Want to go bob for some apples, love?" Hermione blushed and nodded her head. Fred grinned and pulled her closer through the crowds.

They arrived at the game shortly after Lee and George. "Hello boys? Up for a game?" Hermione asked motioning to the large tub full of apples.

"Of course!" George said as they all knelt around the tub. "First one to get an apple wins."

Someone in the crowd counted down and they all plunged their heads into the water. Fred dug around frantically in the water for a short bit before coming up for air. He continued to struggle until he heard the crowd cheering loudly. He pulled his head up to see a smug Lee with an apple in his mouth. He grinned and splashed a bit of water at him. Hermione laughed at his side and congratulated Lee. Fred noticed her hair and hat had gotten damp, so he pulled out his wand and flicked it, casting a quick drying charm for her.

"Thank you, Fred." Hermione said with a smile that made Fred feel like he couldn't breath.

He nodded his head and pulled her up, "Like I said earlier, anything for you Princess!" He pulled her to him and decided to make this a night that Hermione would never forget for a long time. He smiled as the dance music they chose had begun to pump through the air. He looked down and Hermione to see her moving her head to the beat.

"Do you want to get a drink and then dance a bit?" He asked motioning towards the long table filled with goodies.

Hermione nodded and Fred sat her down in a chair before moving reluctantly from her side. He quickly got two glasses of punch before heading back to Hermione. She was cornered in the chair but a few angry looking upperclassmen. Fred scowled and moved quickly to her side.

"-do you think you're doing?" One girl snapped at her.

"You have no right clinging to Him like that!" Another girl sneered at her and he was pleased to see Hermione's glare. He didn't want her to back down from these girls.

"I'm not clinging to anyone! I'm spending time with Fred!" She said, her tone indignant.

Another girl scoffed, "Right and one of the Weasley twins just wants to spend time with you then?"

"Given the fact that we all dressed up as a set, I'd say they both do." Hermione said calmly a slightly smug smile on her face. "After all they didn't even bother to ask any of you to be Alice, now did they?"

Fred laughed at the stunned expressions on the girl's faces, "If you ladies are done harassing Hermione, I'd like to snag her for a dance." Fred handed her the drink and gripped her free hand before moving her off towards the dance floor. Hermione laughed and followed him as they swiftly moved through the dancing bodies around them. Fred stopped towards the center of the floor and pulled Hermione close to him. He decided against pulling her as close as he wanted her to be, instead he kept her at a chaste distance from him. He didn't want to scare her off and she was still young and fairly innocent to the dating world. He smiled to himself as he twirled her; he was determined to be her first and only boyfriend if he could help it.

They danced for ages before George and Lee had joined them. Each boy took turns dancing with her, glaring at any boy, who wasn't Ron or Harry, that approached. Fred wanted to keep Ron away too, but George wouldn't let him. He knew Ron liked Hermione, but Fred had made the first move and he wasn't giving up his chance for anyone, not even his baby brother.

FWFWFWFW

The music came to an end around one in the morning and the crowd had dwindled down over the last few hours. The party had been a roaring success and the boys were pleased with their effort. Harry and Ron had bid them goodnight 20 minutes ago but Fred had convinced Hermione to stay till the music ended. He brought his focus to her smiling and flushed face.

"Have fun?" He murmured to her watching his brother and Lee wander off to the other side of the room.

"Never had more fun in my life!" Hermione said, "Thanks for convincing me to come!"

Fred chuckled and placed his hand on her cheek, "You're very welcome, thank you for giving in."

Hermione smiled and leaned into his hand, "I can't refuse you and George for some reason, I must have a soft spot for you."

Fred smiled and his heart sped up as she said this, "Well we are that charming." He said with a laugh before giving her a sly smile. "You know I never got my kiss for winning the duel."

Hermione blushed and ducked her head. Fred frowned and placed two fingers under her chin and lifted her face. "You do that a lot." He mumbled mostly to himself and Hermione gave him a shy smile, letting him know she heard.

"Now how about my kiss fair princess?" He asked giving her a charming smile.

Hermione leaned forward and stood up on her toes and placed a sweet kiss to his cheek. Fred smiled at her and pulled her into a hug. He breathed in her scent and smiled softly in her hair. He pulled back slightly; "You should probably head up to bed." He said as she yawned.

She smiled and nodded, "Night Freddie." She murmured pulling back from his embrace.

Fred leaned forward kissing her cheek, his lips landing close to hers. He felt her gasp against his cheek and smiled. "Night Princess."

He watched the blushing girl walk up the stairs before he headed to his own dorm. He fell back onto his bed, a silly smile on his face. He now knew he stood a chance. She was already his and now he had to get her to realize that. He never thought he'd feel for a girl like this at his age. He was pretty sure it was love. Real and true love. He smiled to himself as he rolled over onto his side. She smelled like oranges, his favorite fruit. She had different smiles that did different things to his body. She was smart, beautiful, and witty and had her own streak of mischief. She was perfect for him and she would be all his.

He loved the way she made him feel; the way she knew who he was and never confused him with George. He even loved it when she lectured him and George when they would break a rule. He loved the shivers she gave him and the warm feeling in his chest. He heard the door to the dorms open and turned to see George and Lee approaching him with grins.

"Well how'd it go?" George asked.

Fred grinned up at his brother, "Perfect and I'm certain I'll have her as my girl by Christmas. I even got my kiss for winning the duel!"

"Really now?" George asked with a lecherous grin. "How bad did she blush?"

"She was all pink and shy, she stood up on her toes and kissed me on my cheek. It was one of the most adorable things I'd ever seen."

George smiled at his brother's obvious happiness; "Did you kiss her back?" He asked leaning forward an eager look to his face.

"Mmmm, I did brother. And I kissed her real close to her lips and she gasped. You guys were right, she does like me!" Fred side and leaned back onto his bed. The night really had gone as perfect as he wanted it to, well except for those girls earlier, but Hermione handled them quite well.

"So what's the plan Forge?" George asked excitedly.

"I'm going to step up my game and hope she responds accordingly and I'm not going to stop until she does. I'm determined about this one guys!" George and Lee grinned down at him before Lee frowned slightly.

"Fred.." Lee trailed off slightly looking concerned.

"Yeah Lee?" Fred said looking confused.

"Don't hurt her. You're my bestmate, but she's become like a sister to me these last couple of months and if you hurt her… Well I'm going to have to beat you to a bloody pulp." Lee's face was completely serious and Fred just smiled.

"I'll try my best not to Lee, I don't want to hurt her. I can promise I'll never do it intentionally." Lee smiled and clapped him on the back.

"Night then and good luck!" Lee said before he began to get dressed for bed. George murmured the same sentiment and Fred stood to get ready for bed. He smiled to himself the whole time, thinking of all the things he liked about Hermione. He could probably fill a book. He pulled his T-shirt over his head and settled down into his sheets. He fell asleep with a happy smile on his face and thinking of stealing her first kiss by Christmas.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Hermione was immediately snagged when she entered her dormitory that evening. She couldn't help but groan quietly when Lavender and Parvati led her over to her bed and closed the curtains around them after climbing in. She was tired and had a very long day… she just wanted sleep. Sweet, blessed sleep. They hadn't even let her change, but seeing their eager smiling faces quelled Hermione's urge to snap at them.

"What is it you guys?" She asked with a sigh fiddling with her little top hat.

"We wanted to know how your date went!" Lavender said latching on her arm, "You two looked so adorable together Hermione, I swear the perfect couple!" Parvati nodded in agreement squeezing Hermione's arm.

"And he couldn't keep his eyes off of you for more than 47 seconds. Lavender and I counted!" Hermione was beginning to wonder if Fred and George had fed them anything funny.

"It wasn't a date guys, I spent the whole day with Fred, George and Lee. We had loads of fun and I got this great costume, we had candy, went to Zonko's and George stole my chips at lunch!" Hermione said smiling at them, "Fred and I weren't on a date today…" she sighed softly before falling back onto her pillows.

Lavender and Pavarti shared a look before Lavender spoke up again, "Did you want it to be a date Hermione?" She asked placing a hand on Hermione's arm.

"I'm not sure.. I'm not even sure if I'm old enough to date someone. That's a big step and it has responsibilities… How can I know I'm ready for something like that?" Her thoughts seem to tumble from her mouth and she just couldn't stop the flow.

"Of course you are, You're 14 this year aren't you? I heard loads of muggles start dating even younger than that, so you should be fine! And you don't have to worry about being the perfect girlfriend as I doubt Fred Weasley is the greatest catch of Gryffindor tower." Lavender said winking at Hermione.

Hermione nudged the girls shoulder, "I guess your right, but he has a lot of excellent qualities in a bloke. He's fit, tall, funny, smart, daring, sweet, kind, thoughtful, mischievous, handsome, wit-"

"Okay! We get it Hermione. You have it so bad lass!" Pavarti said interrupting her impromptu rant of Fred Weasley's better qualities. "You're in love with the boy aren't you?" she asked her eyes glazing over and her face going a bit dreamy.

"Of course not." Hermione said and rolled her eyes.

"What do you mean you don't love the boy? What with all you said?" Lavender asked eyes wide.

"Well I don't think I love him yet, then again I've never been in love before, so what would I know anyway. But I do know that I could love him when I am old enough to realize that. I could probably love him forever." Each girl let a dreamy sigh fall from their lips, before looking at each other and bursting into a fit of quiet laughter.

"So you're at least smitten with Fred then?" Parvati asked moving closer to Hermione.

"Smitten, is a bit of and understatement. Right now it feels like I'm obsessed. I think about him constantly, even when he's sitting right next to me I'll drift off thinking about him. It's getting a bit difficult to do my homework." Hermione frowned to think of all the less than perfect essay's she had to turn in because of all the thinking about Fred. But those thoughts and daydreams were probably worth it anyway.

Lavender and Pavarti giggled, "So what are you going to do about it then?" they chimed in together, smiling at the girl.

"About what?" Hermione asked shaking herself from her thoughts.

"How are you going to get Fred Weasley to be your boyfriend, silly bird." Lavender patted her head in a motherly manner before brining them all in a huddle on Hermione's bed. "We need a plan and a good one. What should the deadline be?"

"Christmas!" Pavarti declared, "It'll be so romantic too, kissing under the mistletoe, cuddling by the fire, walking in a winter wonderland." She gushed singing the last part a bit off key.

Hermione chuckled and nodded her head, "Christmas it is! Now what's the main objective here?"

HGHGHGHGHG

The girls had stayed up another 2 hours to work out the plan, now titled, "Operation Mistletoe". She was just thankful that today was Sunday. That meant she could sleep as long as she desired. She curled up in her blankets and attempted to fall back asleep. Mary and Violet had been loud that morning, waking everyone up, though Lavender had silenced them by chucking one of her maryjanes in their direction.

Hermione sighed and turned over looking at the clock. It was 9:30, she should probably get up for breakfast. The girls had made her promise that for the next week she should enact step one of the plan. That involved three rules, they had even written them out on an old scroll of parchment so no one would forget. They went a little something like this.

Rule #1: Wear Fred's sweater at every possible opportunity, without making it seem like a desperate bid for attention. She wasn't entirely sure how she was suppose to do that but, with a sigh, she pulled the sweater over her clothes anyway and moved out of the dorm.

Rule #2: Sit as close as possible to Fred, without being too close as to not seem easy. Hermione wasn't exactly clear on what 'seeming easy' meant, but she gathered it wasn't a good thing to be seen as. So when she arrived down to the great hall to see that Fred had saved her a seat she did rule number three.

Rule #3: Fred seems comfortable with kisses on cheek. Be sure to kiss his cheek and smile, as often as you get the opportunity. Don't go overboard as this sign of affection can be used to much and then fall into the Friendship Zone. She blushed and peck Fred on the cheek, thanking him for saving her a spot at the table. So far no one had noticed her sweater, at least she had thought that until Fred leaned toward her.

"Cold Hermione?" He whispered to her, she shivered at the sensation, she could have sworn she felt his lips ghosting over her ear.

She nodded her head blushing, "I still can't find my other sweaters and well I'm rather fond of this one." She watched Fred out of the corner of her eye and was delighted to see the light pink color dust his cheeks. So far phase one was a success. Now she just had to get through the rest of the week.

FWFWFWFWFW

Fred had woken up from the most wonderful dream. It had started out as a snowball fight in the courtyard and had turned into Fred kissing Hermione as the snow drifted down around them. The scene, he hated to say, was a rather girly and sappy one. But it had been so perfect in his mind, he thought he could really feel her lips. Then George had thrown a pillow at him and woken him up. Needless to say he was not happy with his brother.

"Sod it George! What was that for?" He asked with a groan. He curled his body up and tried to see if he could catch the dream again when he fell asleep.

"Freddie! It's time to get up it's past 9, and you know that breakfast table will be filling up pretty soon. Remember the plan? Rule #1: Be sure to save Hermione a seat next to you at every meal. Doesn't matter if it seems desperate, because she's too good for you anyway."

Fred chuckled, remembering last night, when the boys hadn't been able to sleep, well Fred had but George and Lee had decided to wake him back up. Lee had added the bit about it not mattering if it seemed a desperate bid for attention, stating that Hermione was too good for him anyway. They had planned out a long list of things to accomplish before the Holidays arrived and Fred couldn't wait to put some of the things in practice. Like Rule #2: Take every opportunity to pull Hermione into a whispered conversation, goal is privacy and blushing Hermione. Once again it doesn't matter that it seems desperate, you're not good enough for her anyway. That last bit had developed into an inside joke, it was funny even to Fred, because he honestly couldn't think of anyone that could deserve Hermione's love, well except for her future children. Though his favorite rule so far had to be Rule #3: Hermione seems to accept handholding and cheek-kissing, taking every available opportunity to do this. Doesn't matter that you act desperate, you're unworthy of the attention anyway.

He couldn't wait to see Hermione that day. He had a plan now and he was going to use it to it's fullest extent.

FWFWFWFWFW

Fred had already had to tell six rather giggly girls that the seat next to him was taken. They kept pestering him about who it was for until he had to tell each and every girl to "Move their arses or he'd hex them." He had said this, wand in hand, with a nasty smirk on his face. He was pleased to see that it worked quite well, they didn't come near his side of the table for the rest of the morning.

He glanced back towards the door into the hall, hoping to see Hermione coming towards him. He had been looking every minute for the last fifteen minutes. He was starting to lose hope that she'd come before he finished his breakfast. Finally his eyes landed on her mass of curls and he waved her over. She sat next to him but not before giving him that heart stopping smile and a kiss on the cheek. Her face was blushed and he was sure his was too. He hadn't been expecting that, but it was a pleasant surprise that he wouldn't complain about.

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and smiled as his eyes landed on her sweater. He leaned in to her, almost brushing his lips on her ear as he spoke. "Cold Hermione?" He asked his voice lower than he had meant to make it.

She nodded her head, a delicate blush forming on her cheeks, "I still can't find my other sweaters and well I'm rather fond of this one." Fred turned his head slightly and blushed. Was it just him or was Hermione being a lot bolder today? He recovered himself and tossed an arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer to his side as they ate, chatting about the party and what they should do next year.

However, neither of the smitten teens noticed the knowing eyes watching them, sparkling with mischief and knowing smirks planted firmly on familiar faces. Neither of them knew exactly what they had gotten into, but at the moment they couldn't really complain.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Yesterday had been so perfect, she and Fred had gotten on so well. She, Harry and Ron had even visited Hagrid and they got the chance to hear about the next COMC lesson. She sat with Hagrid for hours talking about the elves and Hermione's cat Crookshanks and how she hadn't seen the poor thing in awhile. She had spent the night by the fire, laughing with her friends, and now this happens.

Sirius Black had apparently tried to get in last night and only the Fat Lady was there to stop him. She was hiding now off in an another portrait; her canvas had been slashed and torn to an almost unrecognizable state. Hermione stood in the cold common room, huddled up with her friends and hugging Harry. Harry would give her odd looks but he didn't open his mouth to question her actions. This relieved Hermione slightly, one less thing for her to worry about right then. She didn't want to be the one to tell Harry what she had pieced together; she didn't even want him to know. She knew he'd do something insane just like he did in second year when he found his way into the chamber of secrets. Her body gave an involuntary shudder as she thought of that place and the creature within. Harry looked at her with worried eyes as Ron patted her back. It felt good to know she had her friends there, but her mind couldn't help but wonder to another ginger boy.

Her eyes scanned the common and the finally landed on Fred, George and Lee. They were huddled on the other side of the common room, talking amongst themselves. Hermione couldn't even begin to guess at what they could be speaking about at a time like this and then Fred's eyes found hers and she felt that much better. She offered him a weak smile that he returned; his eyes were flat and colored with a grim set of his brow. Fred was worried, and she entertained that she really had no clue of who he was worried for the most, a selfish part of her heart wanted it to be her, but a larger part knew that it was probably George. Fred was motioning her to come over to them now, she didn't know if she should leave Harry, but thought since he didn't really know what was happening she didn't have to worry quite yet.

She detached herself from Harry and gave both him and Ron a parting hug, then turned and made her way to Fred and the boys. As soon as she reached them, Fred pulled her into an embrace. He smoothed her hair back from her face and placed a kiss to her forehead. His eyes were clouded with worry as he peered down at her.

"Are you alright love?" He asked his voice barely a whisper.

She smiled at him softly and nodded her head, wrapping her arms around his chest. "I'm fine Fred. Just a little worried…" Her voice became soft almost too quiet for him to hear, but he caught the words and frowned at her.

"So then you know?" He asked her, pulling back from her slightly. "You know why Black is trying to get in don't you?"

"I think I do, I mean I have a basic idea and theory…. Why?" She looked up at him, her eyes almost accusing him.

"Yeah I do, George and I overheard dad talking over the summer after the breakout…." He looked over to Harry and then back to Hermione, a determined look set on his face. "I'm going to tell him what's going on, he deserves to know everything."

"You will not! I'll not have him running off like an idiot after a madman!" Her voice was harsh as she whispered to him and she saw his eyes take on a pained light.

"You can't stop me Hermione. You don't have much say in what I can do; you're not my mother and you're not George." He said pulling away from her. "I will be telling Harry."

She glared up at him, "You breathe a word to him and I'll never speak to you again Fred Weasley, I swear it. You don't know him like I do! He will want revenge; He'll want Black! He's the reason Harry has been alone at that horrible house all his life! I will not have Harry taken from me. Not my best friend, he's too young to be taken from me!" Tears were blurring her vision and she angrily wiped them away, "I swear Fred you tell him anything and I'll never speak to you again." She moved away from their little group quickly and Lee chased after her, calling her name.

He managed to corner her on the other side of the room, in a darker corner. He immediately wrapped an arm around her shoulders and brought her face to his chest and she sobbed. He shushed her crying and smoothed a circle with his hand on her back. They stood like this for a little while and then Lee spoke, softly into the quiet air around them. "Hermione? What's going on? I haven't seen you this upset since your first year luv."

"It's just so much Lee, too much. I don't know if I can handle anymore secrets, but most aren't even my secrets to tell. I know Harry deserves to know all of it, every last thing about Professor Lupin, Sirius Black, his parents… why they died and why Sirius is here now." Hermione whispered in cracked voice, hoarse from crying. "I think I know how he got in, but I can't be sure. I don't want to believe that he would help him, but what if he did? What if this is just the beginning of another terrible year for Harry? He's only thirteen; can he handle all this?"

LJLJLJLJ

She rambled on to him, never seeing his face twist into confusion. He could only understand half of what she was talking about and he wasn't sure he wanted to know most of the rest. Not if it caused this. He couldn't help the twinge of anger he felt toward Fred. His words causing such a horrible breakdown of the girl in his arms. He would speak to Fred about this later when he wasn't trying to get Hermione to calm down. 'Poor little bird' he thought as he tightened his arms around her.

"It'll be alright luv. Don't worry darling." He rocked her in his arms, swaying them on their feet as she continued to sob in his shirt.

"Fred can't tell Lee, he just can't, I don't want Harry to get hurt… Please don't let him tell." Hermione's voice was filled with a desperation Lee had never heard before and his heart ached for her, he wanted to be able to tell her everything was fine, that this was all a terrible dream and everything would be perfect again in the morning. He closed his eyes and wished this all to a bad dream, he opened them sharply and glanced around. No still there, everyone was still there, everything was still messed up and Hermione was crying into his shirt.

He glanced to Fred, yup he stilled looked torn between rushing over to comfort Hermione and wipe her tears away and staying resolute in his decision. Lee tried to give him a reassuring look before turning back to Hermione. He sat her down onto the couch and pulled her into his lap. Wrapping his arms around her he rocked her and whispered reassuring words in her ear as she drifted off into a fit-full sleep in his lap. He didn't care if Fred was mad at him for holding her like this; he didn't feel any spark of attraction, no small flame of lust. He felt nothing but the warmth of holding the girl who was like a sister to him close on his lap, relishing in the warmth that came with knowing that he was able to help his little sister. He just had to make everything right for her soon.

FWFWFWFWFW

He couldn't believe himself. He smacked a hand to his forehead and growled, low in his throat. He had been frantic with worry since the Fat Lady's screams had woken him up. All he had thought about was Hermione, about her safety, about how she was feeling! And now he had made her cry! Cry! What kind of man was he, making the woman he loved cry. He shook his head, throwing his body back against the wall with a thud before sliding down the wall and onto the floor. He couldn't believe that this had happened. But was he really to blame for all of this? It wasn't like Hermione was completely innocent in this argument.

He turned his gaze to where she had run off and his chest clenched as he saw Lee wrap his arms around her. He turned from the sight a sting of jealousy and sorrow washing over him. Wasn't that his job? Wasn't he supposed to be the one to make it all better? Kiss away all the tears. Oh yeah, he was the one that made her cry. What help would he be anyway? He growled in frustration and pulled at his hair. This wasn't good, not good at all… His plan was shot now, how can you get close to a girl that wont talk to you if you do the right thing? Why was it such a big deal anyway? What did it matter? Didn't she realize that Harry had the right to know the things that affected his life like this? Stuff that was important to him, his safety, his past?

He looked back to the pair to see Lee with Hermione cuddled on his lap sobbing herself into sleep. He couldn't stand looking at that. That was suppose to be him, but he couldn't be there, they'd just fight more and he didn't think he could take that right now. He tore his gaze away as his brother dropped in front him pulling him into a hug as his body began to shake with the stress. This was the first time he had ever fought with Hermione, he wasn't sure how to make it better without going against his own mind.

"What do I do George?" He asked his voice hoarse.

"I don't know Freddie, but I do know that it will work out." George put a hand on his head and ran his fingers through his hair, and Fred let loose the first sob of stress.

GWGWGWGWGW

George didn't know what to do. His brother, his twin, his other half was breaking down over a girl. They had never covered this; he never had these problems with girls. They all swooned over him and his brother; they never argued and just listened. George got tired of it sometimes but he didn't think he could ever go to this extreme. Now his brother sat in his arms in a common room full of students, sobbing into his shoulder. Fred was always more sensitive to these things and George always felt like he couldn't relate. 'What to do?' He thought as he tightened his arms around his shaking brother.

He glanced over at Lee and Hermione; he couldn't help the fond smile on his face as he watched the sleeping girl in Lee's arms. She had become like a sister to him in such a short time. He wanted to be there for her, but he knew Fred needed him now and that was more important. He looked back to his brother and nudged him.

"Calm down Freddie and go check on her. I know you're upset but she's still important, she'll need you in the morning. And she'll need you the next day; you two were made for each other. Talk it out." George pulled back from his brother and wiped away the tears that had forced themselves out of Fred's eyes.

"I don't know if I can do that George, I know I'm right. I don't think I can admit to being wrong when I don't believe I am." Fred told him letting his head fall forward.

"Fred you have to remember, Harry is her brother, her first true friend at Hogwarts. He's going to go after Black and we both know that. Would you want me to do something like that? Those two are practically twins! I'd give them till fifth year before they start finishing each other's sentences and thoughts like we do. She doesn't want to lose someone so important to her. She's just scared Fred, you need to realize that and get over your pride. I won't let you ruin something with such a great bird." George whispered and smiled as he watched Fred's face fall into an understanding light. Fred knew now and he was going to fix this. It was going to be perfect and they would be happy. He and his friends would be sure of that. George stood with his brother and they sat next to pair on the couch. He smiled as Fred pulled Hermione from Lee gently and set her on his own lap whispering to her as she slept. Life would be better in the morning and everything would be right again.

HGHGHGHGHGHG

Hermione woke a few hours later; the first thing that she saw was Fred's sleeping face. A fond smile stretched across her features and she leaned forward and kissed his cheek softly. She glanced around and saw all of her friends surrounding her in their sleep. Lavender and Pavarti squeezed together in a chair, Harry and Ron asleep at her feet. George and Lee, the two other boys she had grown so close to. She loved them both so much; they felt like the older brothers that she always wished she had. Harry was the same, but different. George and Lee would protect her she knew that. When she thought of Harry, she could only think of how she needed to save him from the world, keep him safe for as long as she could. She'd explain that to Fred in the morning, maybe he would understand and then, this night will be like it never happened.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Fred woke up to feeling something soft and warm wriggling in his lap, he murmured softly and tugged the object back against his chest and cuddled into the soft fuzzy hair that collided with his face. The sound of soft laughs filtered through the air and into his ears. He growled in frustration as the something squeaked and continued to move, trying to get away. He tightened his hold, not knowing why, but a part of him realizing that he shouldn't let this object go just yet. He just needed a little while longer.

His eye's cracked open when the laughter started in full force. The first thin he saw was a mass of shiny brown stuff, he blinked and realized that the brown stuff was hair. So that would mean the something on his lap was a person. He abruptly let his hold on the person go before he blushed brightly.

"Sorry Hermione…" He said his voice quiet, trailing off at the end. He didn't know if she was still angry with him and he didn't want to chance making her even more upset.

"It's alright Fred. I was trying to get up without waking you, but I had some difficulties with that." Hermione said a sleepy smile still on her face.

This statement caused a round of loud laughter to issue from the audience of the spectacle. "Yes Granger just a tiny bit of trouble, right? You're not going to tell him you'd been at that for nearly 20 minutes before he woke up?" George's voice was broken with laughter as he questioned her.

"Yeah Hermione! He was practically snuggling with your hair for merlin's sake!" Lee and George had currently deposited themselves on the floor, shaking with laughter as they watched Fred's blush move from his ears and neck to cover his whole face.

"Shut it! I didn't mean to hold her captive." Fred mumbled burying his face in his hands. Hermione sat next him and giggled quietly. She leaned her head on his shoulder and began to laugh harder, and Fred couldn't help but smile. Soon he was laughing too and the smile of his face was wider than the rest. Hermione was laughing with him, that was a good sign right?

HGHGHGHGHGHG

Last night's incident went by without mention that morning. It seemed she and Fred had an unspoken agreement to discuss it later. She sighed with frustration as Trelawney's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Ah, Miss Granger. Tell me what you see." She said coming up behind her.

Hermione glared down at the crystal ball and smirked. She opened her mouth and spoke in a wistful tone, "I see flashing lights and.. OH! Someone has been killed! His friends are struggling to find him…" She ignored Harry and Ron's snorts of laughter as she imitated the batty divination teacher.

"Yes Miss Granger? Do you know who he is?" Trelawney asked her face looking excited.

"Hmmmm I never seen the man before, Oh wait! He does look familiar, It's Professor Lockhart!" Hermione leaned in closer and let out a mock gasp, "Oh! They're all dead now, I wish I knew who his friends were!"

Trelawney gave her shoulder a pat and made a sympathetic noise before moving away from her to another table. Hermione sighed and scowled at the woman. Well, divination was done for the day at least. She wondered though, when she'd get to talk to Fred.

HGHGHGHGHG

She sat herself across from Harry and Ron at the lunch table and smiled brightly.

"What has you so happy Hermione?" Harry smiled back at her; "Did you learn a new equation in Arithmancy?" Ron snorted at question, thinking that Harry was poking fun.

Hermione frowned slightly at Ron before turning back to Harry, "As a matter of fact I did! It's suppose to help break down spell properties!" She launched herself into an explanation and Harry was listening avidly, smiling at her all the while. It was nice to know that at least one person cared about her schoolwork and interests.

She felt two bodies take up places next to her and she stopped herself mid sentence turning looking to either side. The twins sat there, smiling down at her, before wrapping their arms around her.

"Hermione, it's lovely to see you so happy today." Fred said and kissed her cheek quickly causing Hermione to blush.

"Princess! What has you so excited?" George asked as he began to place food onto his plate. Hermione turned to him and smiled, explaining the new equation she had learned. Fred and George listened and made their own comments. After she had finished her tale of Arithmancy, Harry and Ron launched into the story of how she had fooled Trelawney today in divination. Fred and George were shaking with laughter at the end, she was happy to hear Fred agree that divination was basically useless.

"Why are you still taking it then?" Ron asked looking at them with curious eyes.

George smirked, "Great place to take a nap or think up new pranks of course." Even Hermione let out a quiet chuckle at that statement and they all went back to discussing upcoming events. The boys were all excited over the first quidditch match of the season coming up next week. Hermione gave them indulgent smiles and tried to match their enthusiasm.

Lunch was almost over when Fred leaned down and spoke to her in a whisper. "Hermione can I talk to you right now? I think we need to discuss what happened."

Hermione's body tensed as her mind raced. This morning they had all been happy, but what if that was just a show for everyone else? What if Fred was still mad at her? She frowned before she looked up and Fred and forced a smile onto her face. "Alright Fred."

Fred stood and offered his hand. She took it with a small smile, letting him lead her out into the hall. They stood there looking uncomfortable and shy until Hermione was brave enough to speak.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled that way. I'm just so worried about Harry… He's had such a hard life already, I don't want it to get worse." Her eyes had started to flood with tears as she peered up at Fred.

She heard him sigh lightly, "I know Hermione. I'm sorry too, I still think he deserves to know though."

Hermione gave a sharp nod of her head and threw he arms around Fred, hugging him close to her. "I want to tell him but I'm just so worried about him. He's like a little brother to me, when I think of him, all I can wonder is how he's doing.. Is he happy? Is he understanding the classes? Did he do something to get into trouble? What's going to happen when Harry finds out? Will he know that I knew first? Will he hate me? Will he stop being my friend?" Her voice had cracked and she began to cry quietly into his chest. She didn't know what they would do about this but it felt nice to get all the questions off her chest.

Fred shushed her, running his hand through her hair. "Don't worry Hermione, Harry wont get angry with you, I wont let him. Besides he loves you too much, he looks at you like George does to me. Like he'd be lost without you in his life." Fred brushed his lips across her forehead and smoothed back her hair.

"Really?" She asked, her voice muffled by his sweater.

"Really. No worries love, we'll think of something. Then we can both be happy with the decision."

Hermione nodded her head and they stood like that until the students began to filter out of the great hall. She released her hold on him, but not before giving him a lingering kiss to his cheek. "Thank you Fred."

"Anytime Princess."

FWFWFWFWFWFW

Fred was confused. He had been determined earlier to stick to his decision of telling Harry, and then Hermione had cried. He didn't know what to do with crying girls, Ginny never cried and his mum always went to their dad or Bill. He never had to deal with it. He groaned and fell back onto his bed. He had all this to deal with not to mention the Quidditch match against Hufflepuff this coming weekend. He sighed and turned over staring down at his essay for potions. He hadn't been able to concentrate at all today.

He had so many questions that hadn't gotten any answers.

Why was Sirius Black after Harry? He was sure Hermione knew the answer to that one but he didn't want to ask, not after last time.

Why did Hermione disappear and Reappear in the oddest of places around Hogwarts? He and George had seen her on countless occasions so far this year. Did she know passages that they haven't discovered? That thought made him smile a bit; he'd like to think Hermione was a bit more mischievous than she let on.

Lee had mentioned Hermione talking about Lupin. Where did he fit in? What did he have to do with all of this? That and he'd noticed Lupin would come back to class looking tired, haggard and beaten up once a month. He was starting to develop his own suspicions about the man and he wondered if Hermione had noticed too.

Hermione was still a mystery, but his hope of her returned feelings was growing with each passing day. She had been wearing his sweater more often and they sat next to each other as often as they could. He wished that they had someway of speaking during class, but he hadn't figured anything out yet. He had admitted to himself a few days ago that he missed her when he had to go to class, when he couldn't be near her. She always seemed to make his mood that much brighter. His brother had called him a sap and Lee had given him a knowing grin. He didn't think he could have ever been luckier than he was having his brother and Lee to confide in. They teased him, tormented him and even made up lame jokes that they just couldn't let go. Even when they did all this though, they always helped his mood and his confidence was back full force afterwards.

He sighed again as his thought pattern drifted back to Hermione. Sometimes he wished he wasn't so infatuated with the girl, he had a feeling his life would be much simpler. But then he would think about never seeing her many smiles, never seeing her get angry, never seeing her defend his and George's differences, never having her by his side. When he thought about all those things his mood would fall and his breath would shorten. He didn't like the sensation much and his heart would hurt even more.

He had known since the night in the kitchens. He wanted Hermione Granger to be his girl. He wanted to be her first kiss, her first boyfriend, and her first lover… He wanted to be the first for everything and if he had his way right now, he'd be the last too.

HGHGHGHGHG

Hermione was happy that her talk with Fred had gone well. They had spent most of the night after classes in the Common room. She had helped them all with facts and homework while Fred, George and Lee had helped her with some of the more advanced things she wanted to include in her essay. It felt nice being helped without question by them, they hadn't assumed she would have already known that, they didn't even bat an eye when she questioned them about the properties of a wolfsbane potion. She smiled happily and pulled her favorite sweater over her head. A part of her mind realized as she was drifting off to sleep, that the sweater still smelled like him.


	17. Chapter 17

AN: HEY EVERYONE! I AM BACK! This is the only new chapter I have written… so many things happened and it made my life increasingly complicated I have however rewritten all of the previous chapters… Kind of.. I mostly rewrote sentences and added things that I thought were neccasary. You'll all have to bear with me as I wont be updating nearly as often as I did before. I want to spend ATLEAST a week on each of these new chapters that I'm going to be writing. I realized that I really have kept most of you waiting for far to long and I want to thank you all for the well wishing and patience and mostly for the support. I also want to thank the new fans of this story for having faith that I will update. I should probably also warn everyone that I'm also currently battling my addiction to anime and anime related things… It tends to get in the way of things, especially me writing this stuff. This chapter is unbetaed and probably will remain so for quite awhile.. I want to thank everyone again for all the patience and support. You're all so amazing! I really hope you like the rewritten chapters, I'm so scared I screwed them up!

CHAPTER 17

Hermione voice was hoarse from screaming as the rain poured down around her. She searched the sky for Harry and followed him idly with her eyes. She had torn her eyes away from Fred only moments before and she could still hear Lee's voice shouting over the crowd. She couldn't keep her grin off her face and she nudged Ron and watched him slip a bit on the wood beneath them. He shot her a playful glare before turning his attention back to the game, pumping his fist in the air as Gryffindor made another goal. The rain was pouring down and she knew Harry was probably having trouble seeing, both seekers probably were. She waved frantically to Oliver trying to catch his attention, she may not know a lot about quidditch but she could help gryffindor win right now. Oliver finally looked at he and she waved frantically gesturing for him to call a time out. She wasn't entirely sure if this was allowed but she figured it might me.

She heard Madam Hooch's shrill whistle go through the air and Lee called the time-out in session. The team quickly flew over to her. They began to question her, but she waved them off and turned to Harry.

"Harry! Can you see?" She called over the sound of the rain.

He shook his head and moved closer as she gestured him over. She gripped his shoulder and pulled him down. She pulled out his wand and laughed as he got a nervous look to his eyes. She shook her head and waved her wand, muttering the incantation to repel the water from his goggles.

"Better?" she asked with a grin on her face.

"Much!" Harry called laughing. He could finally see now!

"What'd she do?" Angelina asked.

"I cast a charm to keep the water off the goggles. This way it should be easier for him to find that snitch!" Hermione yelled and began to wave them back to the pitch.

Oliver sat on his broom, eyes wide and a grin on his face. "I could kiss you Granger!" He yelled over the rain and began to fly closer.

Fred and George moved in front of her, blocking his path. "Better not Ollie." George said, his tone playful but to anyone who could see his face could tell he was dead serious about it.

"I'll do it for you though!" Fred called and moved close enough to place a fleeting kiss on Hermione's cheek before flying off.

Oliver's knuckles had gone white as he gripped his broom; he glared after Fred before turning back to Hermione. His stomach dropping at the dreamy smile on her face. It seemed that he had lost the girl before he had even got her. He shook his head and turned his mind back to the game zooming off towards the hoops.

GWGWGWGW

A part of George felt bad that Ollie couldn't get the one thing that he may have liked more than quidditch. Had Fred not liked her, he probably would have let Oliver have his way. But Ollie wasn't Fred and Fred did like her so that meant Fred got the girl, no matter what. Besides, he was pretty sure Hermione had never even given Oliver more than a friendly glance, he was really just saving the boy from outright rejection.

FWFWFWFWFW

Fred smirked and he struck a bludger at a passing Puff chaser. His girl was rather brilliant. He hadn't even thought to cast a charm like that on Harry's goggles. He had to admit a large reason for the smug smirk on his face was the fact that he got to stake his claim over Hermione in front of Oliver. The bloke just didn't know when to give up. He almost felt bad, rubbing that kiss in his face like that but, Ollie had to learn, even if it was the hard way. His eyes darted to Katie and he pushed his broom towards her before turning abruptly and knocking the Bludger away from her side. She smiled her thanks and zoomed off to the Puff Goal posts. Today was going to be a good day, he could tell.

HGHGHGHGHGHGHG

Hermione watched as the twins batted a bludger back and for between them, flying at the Hufflepuff chasers. She couldn't help but grin at their antics; even in quidditch they played around and had a bit of mischievous fun. She shivered, as the temperature seemed to drop just a little bit more. She really hoped no one got a cold. Her eyes darted to Harry as it got colder and colder. The scream erupting from her throat was drowned out by a crash of thunder. She screamed for Harry as she watched the Dementors swarm around him.

She waited for the dementors to leave for someone else to notice. Harry flew zipping across the sky as they gave chase before the other joined in her panic screaming. She watched as Harry fell off his broom, plummeting to ground. She never saw if he hit or not, she was on the floor of the stands out cold.

HGHGHGHGHGHG

She had woken up to Fred and George standing over her, looking down at her face.

"That's creepy you know." She mumbled as she sat up.

"Well that's what you get for fainting." Fred said as he sat at her bed.

"How's Harry." Hermione asked as she glanced around the room.

"Harry's fine, Dumbledore got to him in time, love. Don't worry to much about it." Fred answered her before he pulled her back against his chest. "You both scared the living hell out of me. I saw Harry fall, then when I go to get you I find out you've fainted and no one can wake you up!"

"I'm sorry Fred." She mumbled as she turned her face into his neck. "I don't think I've ever been that scared."

"Neither have we Hermione. But I'm really glad your okay." George told her before leaning down and planting a kiss to the side of her head. "I'm going to go check on Harry. Oliver's been beating himself up in the shower and hasn't even stopped by yet."

Hermione scowled as she heard that, Oliver was the captain and should be there for his team! Not wallowing in the showers! Fred chuckled at the growl that came from her throat. She blushed as she realized what she did.

"That was adorable. I seem to have caught a little lioness ready to unsheathe its claws." He poked her side causing her to jump.

She slapped his chest playfully and mumbled something about it being a side affect.

"To what?" He asked as he played with a strand of her hair.

"I messed up a potion back in second year." Was all she said before she pulled the blanket off herself and began to move off the bed. She was thankful that they hadn't changed her clothes, merely dried them off. She hated hospital gowns.

HGHGHGHGHGHGHG

She had found Oliver much later after she had cried over Harry's prone form. He looked so weak lying there and then he had woken up, the only thing on his mind was if they had won the game or not. The crushing look of sadness on his face when he saw his Nimbus in splinters had finally set her off and she stomped off to find the AWOL quidditch captain. He was currently cowering in a corner as she jabbed his finger into his arm again and again almost laughing as he whimpered in fear. Tch, boys.

"Listen hear Wood. Harry is currently lying in one of the beds in the hospital wing and you want to know what that little prat asked when he woke up? 'Did we win?' He was so disappointed that you hadn't come see him yet! He thinks your blaming him!" She said her voice rising to a new octave with every indrawn breath.

"What! But I do-." Wood tried to speak but she cut him off again with a sharp motion of her hand.

"I don't' really care what you're thinking right now, what you are going to do is march up to the hospital wing and tell Harry that you don't blame him, that it isn't his fault and that you're incredibly thankful to have him on your team! Do. You. Understand?" She ground out the last three words between her teeth. Wood nodded his head frantically and rushed out of the portrait whole nearly plowing over Fred and George. Hermione turned to them and smiled. "Hey boys!" She waved her hand and fell back into her chair. George waved and made his way over to Lee. They sat next to each other and leaning their heads together with a whisper.

Fred smiled and walked over before perching onto the arm of the chair. "'Elo Princess. Care to tell me why Wood looks like he's going to piss himself?"

Hermione's eyes moved to George and Lee and stayed there as she talked to Fred. Her arm came up to rest across his thighs without her even realizing it. "Mmmm, we had a friendly discussion about his treatment of Harry and the Quidditch match tonight." A slight smirk lit her face and she leaned forward and mumbled. "Perhaps it was George and not Fred then."

Fred tugged her hair to get her attention and she moved to look at him scowling. He just smiled and leaned down to kiss her forehead before moving back. "If that was look comes from a friendly conversation I'd hate to see him if you were angry."

He chuckled as Hermione nudged his leg. She glanced up at his laughing face and gathering a bit of courage, began to move her hand up to the arm he had slung over the top of the chair. She groped her fingers slightly and finally let them curl around his. She glanced away from him, her cheeks tinting red. She felt him squeeze her fingers gently. A happy smile bloomed onto her face and she leaned her head onto his side and began to chatter on about school and unimportant things as she let herself forget about the horrors of the match and focus solely on one Fred Weasley.

FWFWFWFWFW

Fred couldn't believe this. His cheeks were flushed slightly and he squeezed his fingers around hers. She was holding his hand! Well… fingers really BUT that wasn't what was important! Hermione Granger had wrapped her cute little fingers around his and she was blushing. He looked down at her, a soft smile gracing his face as she lost herself in her own words. Her eyes were lit up and he could see the passion that she had for knowledge. It seemed to ooze off of her in waves, it honestly made him want to do his homework and that in and of itself was an odd happening. Normally he would force himself to do the work; not feeling like he was challenged nearly enough by it. But this girl seemed to take school to another level.

He made a casual comment about something he'd read in one of his text books and watched as her eyes glinted, her hand tightening over his. He chatted with her endlessly until Wood came back from the hospital wing and scowled at him, until George came over telling him goodnight and finally until she was asleep next him, the fire light dimmed and throwing shadows across the girls face. He gently moved away from her and leaned down to scoop her up into his arms. He walked to the stairs and kicked the bottom step until he heard a faint 'clunk'. He smirked and moved up the steps swiftly to her dorm.

Her dorm was a mess and Fred could easily find Hermione's organized bed. He carefully picked his way across the floor and placed her into her bed. She sighed softly and Fred couldn't help but smile. This girl really was something else. She looked so sweet just lying there. He couldn't resist and leaned down brushing his lips against her forehead, then her cheeks and finally against the corner of her mouth. He really wanted to kiss her, to feel those soft lips against his own but he'd never do that while she was sleeping, he didn't think that'd be right. He sighed softly and whispered a quiet good night and made to leave.

As he opened the door to the dorm he heard her whisper his name, he turned to find her still sleeping. His grinned stayed on his face well after he fell asleep.

SIDENOTE: Uhhhh could the people that won the review thingers message me.. I seem to have lost those messages and I have no Idea what I was suppose to do for them.. so yeah thanks!


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: sorry this took so long to get out. I've been super busy and real life smacked me the face. Also I had a whole page for like a week and a half.. But I was stuck there at the end of what I had and I couldn't find a way to continue so I had to scrap it and start anew.. This is what I managed to dig out. I'm leaving un betaed so I can get it out sooner after making you wait for so long. I really hope you enjoy it and are looking forward to the next chapter. I am currently trying to fix the bolded and underlined issue on this chapter bear with me until it's fixed thanks.

Chapter 18

Fred sat at the breakfast table, basking in the warmth that radiated from the girl by his side. It had only been a few days since the night he had spent with Hermione in the common room. He had received numerous hugs and kisses on the cheeks from her, each one filling his head and heart more and more. It was difficult for him to restrain himself from kissing her. He found himself staring at her lips more and more. His mind would wonder to the many almost kisses they had given each other at the corners of the mouth. He was sick of waiting and sick of forming plans and he decided that today would be the day that he finally kissed her.

He was drawn from his reverie when she nudged his shoulder. "Yeah princess?"

She gave him a playful frown as she spoke, "Fred, it's time for classes."

"Alright, how about I walk you then?" He pulled her up and grabbed their bags, before sliding his arm around her shoulder.

They walked to her class and he made her laugh and smile the whole way delighting in being alone. He didn't get nearly enough alone time with her and it drove him crazy. Especially with the way Ron had been whining lately about her cat, constantly picking fights about it. He didn't see anything wrong with a cat following his instincts, then again he had never really liked scabbers to begin with.

He dropped her off at the door to her arithmancy class. He swiftly pecked her cheek and told her he'd see her soon before he ran off to his own class arriving just as the professor had finished speaking. He was sent a glare which he threw off with a cheeky little wave as he sat down in his chair.

"Hey Freddie, what was with running off with the princess?" George asked as he nudged the boy's shoulder.

"Mmmm that would be the fact that all of you blokes are always around whenever I'm with her. Just wanted a bit of alone time." He responded as he lazily flicked his wand.

Lee laughed and wiggled his eyebrows, "Get a quick snog then?"

"I wish, but I'm going to get one tonight that's for sure." Fred grumbled and leaned back in his chair.

George flicked his wand again and scowled at the stubborn animal in front him, it seems it didn't want to become a dinner plate. "You mean your finally going to tell the girl?"

"That would be correct." He said, his voice determined and left no room for protests.

"It's about time." Lee said, "Now the question you have to ask yourself is do you tell her you just like her, or how incredibly in love you are with her."

"She may be a mature girl but she is only thirteen. I think the word love can wait until she says it herself. I don't want to freak her out." Fred said as he returned the mouse to it's original form.

"Good idea brother." George patted his back and they fell into light teasing and joking until class had finished.

HGHGHGHGHGHGHG

She was utterly sick and tired of Trelawny's crap. It was bad enough having to use the time turner for this class, it was even worse she had to listen to the drivel that spouted from the woman's mouth.

She had been sitting their for only a few seconds silently brooding over the words the woman had spoken. Never have the inner eye her foot. She didn't want one anyway. Wasn't like that woman wasn't a fraud anyway. She growled and shoved the crystal ball to the floor and stomped out of the room. She was never returning. No matter what happened. She'd never go back to that idiotic class.

She couldn't wait till hogsmeade. She was sure she'd get to spend another day with Fred and that made her mood brighten a bit more. She was happy with the progress she had made in becoming more confident in herself and her own worth. All of the boys had helped, but Fred had helped the most. She was fairly sure that he held feelings for her too. After all if he didn't then why would he always kiss her cheeks and hug he close to his body. One could argue that siblings did that sometimes but she knew that they wouldn't do it as often as Fred did. Especially when she had never seen him do that to any of the other Weasley's at school.

She found herself standing outside of Fred's class and slid down the wall to wait for him to come out. She figured if anyone would support her decision during divination, it would be him. She didn't have to wait long before students began pouring out of the room. She felt a little lightheaded at the smile that Fred flashed her way when his eyes landed on her.

"Fred! Guess what I did?" She said as the three boys moved closer to her.

"What would that be Princess?" He asked as he helped her to her feet.

She smiled and leaned into his side as his arm curled around her waist. "Mmm I walked out on Divination and I'm not going back." her voice was firm and very stern.

Fred nudged her shoulder a bit and she looked up at him, "Why'd you do it?"

"Because she's nothing but a fraud and she had the nerve to judge me for not believing in that tripe, for not having an '_inner eye'." _She finished off with a dreamy voice, mimicking the divination teacher.

The boys chuckled and George patted her back, "How'd you leave?"

"Chucked that stupid crystal ball to the floor and left the room." Hermione said with a smile as she remembered the looks of shock on everyone's face.

"Dramatic and defiant. Well done love!" Fred said and planted a kiss to her forehead. Hermione's smiling was beaming as they made their way to the great hall.

FWFWFWFWFWFW

To be honest he was happier about the fact that Hermione had dropped a class. He was pretty positive she was using magical means to get to all her classes. So far the only thing that made sense was time travel. He had read up on time-turner usage and it could be dangerous to her health and mental well being but he knew that it was something he shouldn't bring up. She would get into huge trouble for him even finding out. George had wanted to confront her about it, but he had held him back. He didn't want another argument.

He let his mind turn to the conversation around him as he sat down at the table in the great hall ready to enjoy his lunch and continue to plan the best way to get his kiss.

************Remember Reviews are love and fuel for the creative fire!*************


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: Hey everyone! I hope the suspense was worth it! This chapter is a bit more mature as the majority is from Fred's point of view. It was actually pretty easy to write once I actually sat down to write the thing. I wanna thank everyone who has been faving, alerting and reviewing this story. I've been pretty busy with Yule preparations and all that so I haven't had much time to get back to anyone. I really hope you all like this chapter. Once again this isn't betaed because the DocX thing hates me… but yeah hopefully I'll be able to fix that later.

Chapter 19

His eyes were trained on her mouth, riveted to the way they caressed her fork. He could swear she was doing it on purpose but her age and ignorance in such matters belied his own thoughts. Now all he had to do was get her alone and give her that kiss and maybe his mind would be clear from the fog. He tore his eyes away only meet the eyes of his brother. They were twinkling like mad as he wiggled his brows. Fred scowled at him and made a discrete gesture with his hand. George merely shook his head mouthing 'no thanks'. Fred couldn't help but chuckle at his brother's cheek. He began to devour his lunch with the usual Weasley finesse and slung his free arm around Hermione's shoulder.

"Fred you shouldn't inhale your food like that." Hermione reprimanded him lightly but smiled as he swallowed his food before opening his mouth to speak.

"I'm a growing boy princess, besides I'm in a bit of a hurry. You don't think you could hurry up and come with me do you? I want to speak with you about something." He watched her face turn a faint pink and took another bite of his meal.

"Well I could leave now if you'd like." she murmured quietly.

Fred grinned and was about to speak but was cut off by George. "Actually Hermione I was hoping you could help me come up with a conclusion to my charms essay. I struggled with it for ages until I just gave up."

Hermione turned and gave a soft sigh, "When's it due?"

"Uhh in about 20 minutes." George said with a guilty smile.

He watched as she shook her head and gave a fond smile to his brother. He watched in dismay as she held out her hand and gave him an apologetic smile. He scowled at George and kicked him. George's grin was unrepentant and even Lee was giving him a knowing smirk. He just growled lowly under his breath and resigned himself to his fate. Looks like he'd have to wait some more.

FWFWFWFW

It was dinner now and his every attempt to get Hermione alone was thwarted again and again. He was starting to feel agitated. So much so that halfway through dinner he'd grabbed her hand and drug her from the hall. She was now trailing behind, struggling to keep up with his long strides. He was frustrated beyond belief and he wasn't entirely sure where he was leading them until he found himself on the grounds standing beneath the tree that had been claimed by the Gryffindor brood. She tugged his hand and he turned to look at her.

"Fred what's going on? Why'd you bring me out here?" Her voice was soft and soothing and it tamed the frustration inside of him.

"I'm sorry love." He said his voice soft and quiet. "I'm just frustrated. I've been trying to talk with you all day and I never got the chance. George and Lee have been deliberately tying up your time just to irritate me."

"Oh. Sorry I didn't realize that they were doing that." She had a guilty look on her face and Fred only chuckled.

"Of course you didn't, your just to much of a softy sometimes." he placed his free hand on her hair and ran his fingers through the strands, a wave of tender fondness washing over him.

"What isn't that you wanted to speak to me about?" Her eyes were closed and a smile was playing across the lips he'd been thinking about since last night.

He tugged her closer to him and wrapped both arms around her waist, he swallowed thickly at having her so close to him. He lifted a hand and place it on her cheek. "Open your eyes princess." He watched her eyes flutter open, half lidded as he stroked her cheek. She was far to innocent, to naïve of her appeal. It was beginning to make him doubt whether he should go through with it. He mentally shook himself, she may be naïve when it came to things like kissing and relationships but she was mature enough to make her own decisions about such matters.

"Well it's been for awhile now. I haven't been able to think of much else but you. You cloud my thoughts and make me feel like I'm going to go insane. I get jealous over other boys and I feel like I could kill those Sytherins for ever even touching you. You're witty and smart and you have such a dry sense of humor. I can never tear my eyes from you when you're talking, when you're yelling, when you're crying. You seem to make everything seem so beautiful and simplistic. I could happily sit and watch you read for the rest of my life." He blushed red when he realized all of what he said and he peered at her face again and saw that her cheeks were pink. "Well that's just the things about your personality and habits. I'm afraid you might think me a pervert if I say much more. Just suffice it to say that I wanted to tell you that I really like you. I can't say it's love yet but it's pure and there and I just had to get it out in the open."

He watched her face pinken even more and fall into a speechless expression. He chuckled and tugged a curl of hair. "This is when your throw your arms around me and devote your body, mind and soul to me for the rest of our lives."

He seemed to have startled her out of her state as she chuckled lowly. He loved that, hearing her chuckle that way. It was low and breathy and far to seductive for a girl her age.

She cleared her throat and looked him square in the eye. He almost flinched at the look there. Sheer determination. "Well Fred I don't know about that but I can say that you make me feel crazy and mixed up. That you distract me even when your not there. You make me smile and laugh like never before. I feel safe and wanted when I'm near you. I feel like I'm home." She said her voice soft and starting to sound unsure. Her shy and jumbled words sending a thrill through his body. "I like you very much. It thrills me to make you happy and you make me feel things I've only ever read about in my mums trashy romance novels."

Fred couldn't help it, he wiggled his eyebrows and took his hand from her cheek and used it to clutch the front of her shirt. "I know it's not a bodice but I'm sure I could rip it open if it'd help. Might have to get a bodice later. It'll feel more authentic then." He gave a soft tug and laughed as she yelped and slapped his hand.

"Fred you lech!" She was laughing with him though and the sound filled him with a surge of joy. Her laughter trailed off and she placed her hands on his cheeks. "Though you may be a lech I adore it because it's a part of who your are. I really do adore you Fred Weasley."

Fred's smile must have been blinding, his lips hurt they stretched so far across his face. "Does that mean you'll be my girl then? My little bird?"

Hermione nodded her head, seemingly unable to find words.

"You have to say it love or it doesn't count."

"Yes Fred." She mumbled.

"Uh uh uh, What are you going to be you my little what?" He asked, his fingers playing with the buttons on her shirt.

"I'll be your little bird." She growled out and he laughed until she looked up at him with a mischievous smile on her face. He gulped and nearly cringed as she opened her mouth. "Does that mean you're my cool cat?"

His face twisted in confusion and she snorted in humor. "Your what?"

"It's a muggle thing Fred don't worry about it."

Fred only nodded his head and then a dirty smirk curled his lips, "Does that mean your going to pet me until I purr darling?"

Hermione's mouth fell open and she smacked his arm. "You complete and utter le-" Her voice stopped as he moved his face closer. He could feel her heavy breaths on his lips. He brought his hand from her shirt to the back of her neck. He lightly gripped the hair there and tilted her head back. He moved closer, his lips only millimeters from hers.

"But I thought you adored that about me." He murmured before his lips closed over hers. She gasped softly and any other time Fred would have taken the opportunity to deepen the kiss. But he knew it was her first and he refused to scare her off with his tongue, instead he pulled her up slightly and stood her on the tips of his toes so he wouldn't have to lean over so much. He held his lips over hers, placing a firm amount of pressure over her mouth. She leant into him and it was almost his undoing. He smiled softly and groaned when her lips began to move shyly over his. He gripped her hip and moved his mouth with hers. Keeping his lips parted only slightly as he got his first taste of pure bliss. He finally got it and he couldn't be more thrilled. Her lips were so much softer than he imagined and he couldn't wait to teach her how to properly snog him. And she would only be using those skills on him for as long as he could make sure of it.

HGHGHGHG

Hermione had been confused at first. But as she stood there and let her lips play with Fred's she couldn't help the thrill that shot through her, the fluttering in her stomach. She had heard many girls complain about horrible first kisses. She couldn't help but feel smug over hers, it was perfect and so much more than she had ever hoped for. She couldn't wait to tell Lavender and Pavarti. She knew they'd be so happy for her. She'd finally gotten Fred and he was all hers. He'd stay that way too if she had any say about it.

She felt him beginning to pull away and she almost whined in disappointment. When their lips finally parted Fred's hands cupped her face and his eyes were wide as they looked at her. They had a look of complete adoration in them and it filled her heart and made it burn with anticipation.

"That.. That was brilliant." He murmured and kissed her brow.

"Then why'd you stop?" Hermione asked as she leaned her forehead against his chest.

"If I hadn't I would have proved just how much of a lech I truly am." He drawled easily, seemingly amused by the red that washed over her face. She smacked his arm and gripped his hand, walking them back to the castle.

FWFWFWFWF

Dinner was well over with by the time they got back and they made their way up to the common room. Their fingers intertwined and a goofy smile plastered on his face. He was almost delirious with his pleasure. He'd got what he'd been working at for months and if he was completely honest had been building towards the first time he'd seen her face streaked with heartbreaking tears when she was only twelve years old. That was another thing that made him feel a bit better about chasing after a third year. Really she could have been a fourth year had she been born just a week or two earlier. Well none of that mattered now. He wasn't giving her up for anything; not Ron, not his mum's plans and not even George. He had his little bird and he was keeping her.

He heard her mutter the password and they walked in the common room hand in hand. He spotted Lee and George by the fire. He walked them over and sat them on the couch near his brother. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, there hands still clutched together and he dove himself into the conversation. He gave Hermione a playful wink and nudged her gently. She smiled and let him play his waiting game.

Finally Lee seemed to spot the hands and raised his eyebrows, giving the hands a pointed look. "Holding hands again Freddie?"

Fred chuckled and nodded his head. "Well Hermione's hand just fits so nicely in my own."

George gave him a look and must have noticed the deliriously happy look on his face because he pumped his fist in the air and crowed in triumph. "You finally did it Forge? You got the girl?"

"It's not like I was hard to catch." Hermione mumbled causing Fred to chuckle. But he nodded his head enthusiastically.

"Yup, the princess decided to bestow her adoration on this lowly court jester." George and Lee both offered up high fives and pats on the back. Fred didn't care that he might look slightly foolish. He was to happy to care. Their conversation seemed to drift across the room and soon Ron and Harry were there, Ginny standing behind them.

"What's all this then?" Ron asked his face looking a little red. Fred couldn't help but feel a tiny bit guilty but a whole lot smug.

"Well during my little walk with Hermione during dinner she agreed to be my girl. Why do you have a problem with that Ronnie?" He asked his tone playful but his eyes shown with a small amount of malice.

Ron shook his head but glared at them both, "By the way Hermione you're ruddy cats been chasing after scabbers again. Keep the furball in your dorm." He stomped off and Ginny trailed after him.

Harry looked a little awkward at first but as he glanced between Hermione and Fred his eyes sparked and he face set in a determined line. "I'm happy for you both. I really am but if you ever harm a hair on her head Fred Weasley I'll make Voldemort look like a kitten."

Fred swallowed thickly and nodded his head. "I don't plan on ever doing anything intentionally but you have to forgive a bloke for a few mistakes. I'll try my best to make her happy but even magic can't do everything." He looked at Hermione and saw the warm smile on her face. He knew he said the right thing, he knew empty promises of constant happiness would have only irritated her.

Harry nodded his head and leaned down to give her a kiss on the cheek. Fred looked on and didn't even feel a small twinge of jealousy. He could only smile in fondness as the scene brought his own siblings to mind. He honestly thought those two must have been separated at birth. Never mind the fact that Harry was nearly a year younger than the girl.

Harry walked off and Hermione leaned into him. She seemed oblivious to the glares and odd looks sent their way. It seemed they both had a handful of unknown admirers and he gave each glaring boy a stern look, making them turn away. He completely ignored the vapid girls who looked on. He'd never want a girl like that anyway. What's looks without substance and he now had a girl with both. So who really cared.

They sat by the fire for hours, laughing and joking until it was finally time for them to go to bed. The common room was mostly empty and George drug Lee, Harry and Ron up to bed. Ron protesting the entire way.

Fred stood and gently pulled her up to her feet. He wrapped her up in his arms, burying his face in her mass of curls. He sighed happily and kissed the crown of her head. He felt her move up to her tip toes and he leaned back a bit. Her eyes were trained on his mouth and he gave her a sleepy smile.

"Would you like a kiss Miss Granger?" He asked softly and leaned his head forward.

She murmured her agreement and be brought his lips over hers in a chaste kiss. Pulling back after a short moment. She groaned sleepily and he walked her to the stairs and placed another soft kiss on her mouth.

"Night love, go on up to bed. I'll see you in the morning." He pulled her close and whispered the words in her ear then reluctantly nudged her to her stairs.

"Good night Fred." she said and turned to walk up the stairs. He watched as she disappeared and finally let himself do a small dance of victory. He'd finally done it!

****REVIEWS ARE LOVE!***

Next chapter: The effect of the cause:D


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks so much for all the kind reviews on the last chapter. This one a bit of a filler and full of conflict. It's also one giant bit of fluffy goodness with a side of sickeningly sweet feelings of love. I think I've outdone myself. Honestly though this chapter was fairly easy to write and I tried to fix the mistakes in my last chapter. So I'll be replacing that one too. I know said there would be a wait between chapters but.. I'm just to impatient:P And I looked this one over a few times so I hope it's better. Let me know if I went off the deep end on the fluff. I just couldn't help myself and no worries the drama is FAR FROM OVER. Grrrr freaking bold text.

Chapter 20

Fred was tackled as soon as he entered his dorm his brother laughing and crowing in triumph. He joined in the celebration as Lee and George danced around him and hugged him again and again.

"Well done Freddie." Lee said with a smile wide enough to split his face.

"You did great little brother. I can't believe she actually agreed I was expecting at least 3 months of you still being single." George said as he flopped back onto his bed.

Fred could only look smug, "Yeah well she said she adores me so I'm not to worried about being single anytime to soon."

Lee snorted and shook his head. "Yeah and your more than halfway in love with the girl so that doesn't hurt anything does it?"

Fred only laughed and nodded his head. He'd do anything for that girl and he wasn't ashamed to admit that. He glanced around the room and his eyes landed on his other dorm mates. He never talked to them much but they didn't seem to be listening anyways. Well until he heard one snort in laughter.

"You have something to say mate?" Fred asked his jaw tense.

"Only just wondering who couldn't caught your attention. The only bird I've seen you around is that little Granger girl and she can't really be called a bird can she. She's more like a walking book. It's pretty easy to manipulate her into doing your work for you." The boy chuckled heartily and Fred thought maybe his name was Nick.. Maybe he should introduce Nick to his fist. "Though you probably already knew that. That's got to be the only reason you lot would hang out with a girl like that."

Before Fred could even get to the boy George, who was closest, lunged on top of him. He watched frozen as his brother pummeled the other boy. Raising his fists again and again, bringing them down onto the boys face and chest. He finally moved and pulled his brother off of the other boy and telling him to calm down.

"Thanks Fred." The boy mumbled from his place on the floor. Fred sneered down at him and placed a kick to the boy's stomach.

"I stopped him before he did enough damage to get himself expelled. You say one more word about my girl again and I'll throttle you myself and I wont stop till I land myself in Azkaban. And that my friend is a promise." He kicked the boy again and smiled in satisfaction as the boy groaned.

"Thanks George." Fred mumbled and he couldn't help but feel ashamed that he hadn't jumped to Hermione defense like George had.

"You're welcome Freddie. Don't worry yourself over it. I was closest and Hermione would have killed you if you'd gotten detention over her." George placed a soothing hand to his back and Fred sat him on his bed and began to dig through the drawers of George nightstand.

"Fred." He could hear the anger in Lee's voice and he shivered. Lee rarely got angry.

"Yeah Lee?" Fred mumbled quietly as he dug in around in the final drawer and pulled out a tub of cream.

"That's what will happen to you if you ever hurt Hermione Granger in anyway. I'm not saying you can't break up with her if you ever lose your feeling. That's just ridiculous to expect you to stick around if your feelings are gone. Because honestly that would hurt her more than you just leaving. But if you hurt her in any other way you'll get more than a black eye and fat lip. I love you mate but that girl is far more precious than a best friend. She's like the little sister I always wanted and I'll protect her like a big brother should."

Fred turned and gave Lee a grin. "I wouldn't expect any less Lee. And if I ever do anything as completely and utterly stupid as that you have full rights to pummel me to the ground, though you'll have to fight Harry for first dibs."

George chuckled quietly and patted Fred's shoulder, "And me Freddie, don't forget about me. It's nice to have a little sister that doesn't constantly whinge and complain. I love Ginny but Hermione is a little sister I always imagined I'd want when Mum was pregnant with Gin. Strong and independent but would lean on me when she needed it. Mione's like that and I'll kill you if you screw this all up."

Fred chuckled and shook his head, "She really is the princess of Gryffindor. She's got a whole guard of Knights and her very own Jester. All of them willing to do anything to make her smile."

Both of the other boys nodded and Fred stood up and looked around the room. The boy that had opened his mouth was gone along with another one. The two remaining boys only smiled at him and offered congratulations at snagging the lovely Miss Granger. Fred thanked them and said with the utmost certainty "Call her lovely again in that tone and you'll regret it. She only need ones admirer and that's me."

The boys nodded their heads and Fred opened the jar and began to smear the paste over George's knuckles. It would heal the split skin and bruises that were there. If that boy knew what was good for him he'd keep his mouth shut about whose fists he'd tangled with.

HGHGHGHGHGHGHG

Hermione walked to her bed and sat down, her brain was still fuzzy from all that had happened that day. In fact she was so out of it she didn't hear the happy squeals and she didn't even see them coming until she was tackled on her bed and bounced up and down by two jumping girls.

"Hermione! You have to tell us everything! What happened? Did he kiss you? Did you like it?" Lavender was talking a mile a minute and Hermione was struggling to keep up.

"Oh! Did he put his tongue in your mouth? Did he try and touch your chest? What about your bum?" Pavarti's questions rang loudly in Hermione head. She wasn't entirely naïve but she couldn't imagine a boy doing that the first time he ever kissed a girl, especially if he didn't want to get his bits hexed.

"Hold on, one at a time and breath girls." Hermione said a fond smile stretching her lips.

"What happened?" Lavender asked her voice high and excited.

Hermione launched into the story of their walk during dinner, what was said and everything that happened. Her story punctuated by sighs and soft squeals from the girls. When her story was done the other girls had a dreamy smile on their face. Even Hermione's eyes had gone dreamy at the thought of how incredibly sweet it had been. The moment was ruined however when she heard a derisive snort behind her. She turned and saw Mary and Violet sitting there, looks of disbelief plastered on their faces.

"Yeah right. Like Fred Weasley would ever go near a girl like you. He might have pitied you after the fiasco in Defense but he'd never put his lips on you." Mary sneered.

"And he'd never ask you to be his girl. Not when he has so many other more suitable girls vying for is attention." Violet laughed snobbishly and shook her head. "I really pity you, trying to say such and outright lie, what you think no one would find out your lying?"

Hermione scowled at them and shook her head. "The pettiness that oozes from the both of you astounds me. You're just jealous that Fred'll never look your way. He chose me and I chose him. We're both thrilled with it and nothing you can say will change that. Be petty all you like but you'll see how wrong you are very soon." She turned her nose up and began to change her clothes, making a point to pull Fred's sweater over her head. She turned down her light and told Lavender and Pavarti good night before drawing her curtains. She laid back in her bed and let herself drift off to sleep. The words spoken unaffecting her, she trusted Fred and knew that while he loved to joke he would never be cruel enough to do something like date her for a joke.

HGHGHGHGHGHG

Hermione found herself pulled off to the side by George and Lee. As soon as they were alone she was dragged from her feet and spun around as George laughed happily. She yelped in surprise as he literally tossed her over to Lee. She was caught deftly and spun around again before being placed onto her feet.

"Thank you Hermione. You've made Fred very happy." George placed a sloppy kiss on her cheek and gave her a cheeky wink. "Though if you're ever in need for the better looking twin you know where to find me."

Hermione laughed and threw her arms around George's shoulders. "He's made me really happy too."

Lee pulled her from George and hugged her close, "Good as long as you stay happy that's all that matters. Just remember, try not to break his heart. I don't want to have to choose between a little sister and a brother."

Hermione nodded her head but started to giggle. "When you say it like that it sounds like incest Lee."

The boys barked out loud and hearty laughs. "You know what I meant princess. Now let your knights escort you to your Jester."

Hermione rolled her eyes and let them lead her back to Fred. Her eyes widened and she fell into a fit of laughter. Fred was disheveled and dazed. His eyes were glassy and he stood there frozen. She couldn't help but notice that he had kiss marks on his cheeks. She recognized the bright shade of red and only Lavender wore and her laughter grew.

"Something wrong Fred?" She asked as she walked up to him and gripped his hand.

He shook his head and looked down at her, "What was that love?"

"Is something the matter Fred?" She enunciated each word slowly, as if she was talking to a toddler.

Fred scowled at her and tugged a strand of her hair. "Nothing much I was just tackled, kissed and squealed over by your friends. Lavender and Pavarti.. I think that's their names. Anyway they attacked me then ran off to the great hall still squealing."

Hermione laughed and pulled the off towards breakfast. Of course Lavender and Pavarti would do something like that. She stopped them before they entered the hall and wiped the makeup from Fred's face. She smiled indulgently as Fred scowled at his laughing friends. She leaned up onto her toes and placed a kiss to each of his cheeks.

"There now their cooties are all gone." Hermione said and pulled a smiling Fred into the great hall. They walked hand in hand to the table and she shot a smug look to Mary and Violet who were watching. Their faces screamed jealousy as Fred kissed her cheek lightly as he sat down at the table and began to pile food onto her plate first. She watched him as he picked all of her favorites and placed a small amount of each onto her plate. She smiled at him and kissed his cheek again. She wasn't entirely comfortable with kissing his lips in public. Fred seemed to know this and kept all his affections chaste. George and Lee planted themselves on her other side and waved over Harry, Ron and Ginny.

Ron and Ginny both looked at her. They scowled and turned away and Hermione couldn't figure out what she had done wrong. She looked at Fred but he hadn't seemed to notice. Instead he seemed to have engaged in a staring contest between himself and Oliver. She shook her head and turned to George nudging him. He glanced at her and she moved her eyes toward Ron and Ginny. George glanced over and scowled back.

"What's your problem then?" He asked and Fred finally broke his contest to look over.

"What do you mean?" Ginny asked as she stabbed at the food on her plate. Hermione watched as Harry shifted looking uncomfortable.

"Why are you scowling at Hermione? The both of you. What's she done to you?" George asked. His voice was harsh and it startled Hermione to hear him talk that way to his siblings.

"She's a little tart and a liar." Ginny said her voice firm and Hermione sat shocked at the announcement. She'd only just gotten her first boyfriend and what had she lied about? She watched as Harry's head whipped around towards Ginny and the girl shrunk away from the glare that was sent her way. Ginny was ruining any semblance of a chance she had with Harry.

"How is she a tart Ginevra?" Harry asked, his voice was dark and a menacing light had entered his eye.

"Like you don't know she led poor Ron on and made him think he stood a chance and as soon as someone else showed the slightest interest she jumped ship and started dating his brother of all people." Ginny voice was shaky but full of conviction. Ron's face had gone a startling puce. Hermione looked at the girl confusion covering her face.

"What on earth are you talking about Gin?" Fred growled. "She's never even hinted at liking Ron."

Harry and the other boys were nodding their heads and Ginny only scowled. "Then why does she do everything he asks? How come she's always teasing and picking fights with him? I mean she hugged him last year and everything!" Ginny demanded and soon every set of eyes in hearing distance were trained on their group.

"First of all Ginevra I helped Ron because I'm his _friend _because I want to see him pass from this school, standing beside me and Harry. Secondly I don't pick the fights, he does! He's always fighting with me over one thing or another and of course I shout back. You expect me to stand there and take it! And I hugged him because I was happy we were all alive!" Hermione's voice was livid and strong. Carrying across the now silent great hall. Eyes trained on them, riveted to the real live drama before them.

"Besides Ginny she's hugged me loads more times then she's ever hugged Ron. Plus she does more stuff for me than she does for Ron. Does that mean she's led me on and betrayed me to?" Harry asked. Hermione could see his fists clenched tight and she shook her head. Ginny didn't even have a scrap of a chance anymore.

"Well that's not really the point. Besides Ron liked her first Fred!" Ginny said her face going red with anger.

"Alright Ronnie when'd you start liking _my girl?" _Fred asked the younger boy and Ron shook his head. "Oh no we need to clear this up because obviously you had 'dibs'."

"I- I've like her since second year." Ron stuttered out and Hermione gave him a sad smile.

"Really well I've had feelings for her since I saw her in her first year. That was about the time you were talking about her behind her back yeah? When you were jealous cause she's so much smarter than you." Fred's voice was low and angry.

Hermione pushed away her plate and stood up. She leaned over and kissed Harry's forehead and proceeded to give the same treatment to George and Lee. She turned to Fred and lifted his face.

"No matter who had 'dibs', no matter what everyone thinks, no matter who they think I should be dating I like you and only you. You're the first boy I've ever liked and it's going to stay that way for a very long time." She gathered her courage and planted her mouth over his and began to move her lips slowly. She wasn't about to change her mind and she wanted everyone to know.

FWFWFWFWFWFW

Fred's world quickly shrunk and focused in on the fact that Hermione was kissing him. In the middle of the great hall. He groaned in triumph and twisted his hands into her hair. He vaguely heard Ron choked on his food. When she finally pulled away he could finally hear the yells and catcalls that surrounded them. He looked up at his girl and saw her face a bright pink. He smiled and kissed her lips quickly before grabbing up their things and walking to class. Harry, Lee and George following closely behind. He was incredibly happy at this moment and nothing was going to change that.

He drifted through the day happily. He walked Hermione to what classes she would let him. A part of him though was itching to ask about the time turner but he figured that could wait. It wasn't until later that night when he was tugged into an empty hallway that he came out of his daze. He looked at the girl standing in front of him. She looked pretty angry and he was pretty sure her name was Miranda…. Or Mindy.. Maybe it was Mattie? All well.

"Did you need something?" He asked. He was impatient to get back to Hermione.

HGHGHGHGHGHG

Hermione had been pointed this way earlier when she asked someone if they had seen Fred. When she turned the corner she spotter Fred with another girl. He didn't look very happy but she kept her place as the girl began to speak.

"Is it true your dating that Granger girl?" The girls voice was snide and filled with disbelief. She smiled though when she saw Fred's happy face.

"Yeah I am and she's great. What of it?" Fred asked as his face turned to a scowl.

The other girl laughed and Hermione could see the change to her stance. She watched as the girl moved closer. Their chests almost touching. "Well I just couldn't believe that a guy like you would go out with a naïve little girl when you could get a more experienced girl to fill your needs." The girls voice was low and Hermione could only imagine she was trying to sound seductive. Her hands were slowly moving up to loop around Fred's neck. But she was stopped as Fred gripped her wrists tightly.

"What do you think you're doing?" Fred growled.

"Only showing you what a real woman can do in comparison to a naïve little girl. I mean she's not even that pretty. What on earth are you thinking?" The girl said her voice was still low and soft. "Come now, let me go and I can show you."

"Listen here girly. If anyone's the naïve little girl it's you. Do you honestly think you could seduce me like this? Let me tell you one thing and you can pass this on. None and I mean NONE of the girls in this school hold a candle to my Hermione. I love that girl more than anything and I'm not about to let you interfere so why don't you run a long and spread the news yeah? Tell all your little friends to stay the hell away from me." He pushed the girl away lightly and Hermione smiled at his words and actions. She knew Fred was angry with the girl but he was still gentle with his actions. "As lovely as it was to chat with you Mattie I'll have to talk to you some other time, like never would be good."

The girl growled and stomped her foot, "My name is Lisa!" She yelled before she ran off down the hall and Hermione saw Fred turn and walk down the hall towards her. She quickly ducked behind the wall and pretended to walk around the corner.

She heard Fred's low laugh and he ran towards her. His arms immediately snaked around her waist.

"How much did you hear princess?" Fred asked her.

"All of it I think. Did you know I was there?" She asked. She was a little nervous now. Fred may not have said some of those things out of his own will but only because he knew she was there.

"I didn't. At least not until I saw you duck behind the wall. You're not very sneaky when you're trying to hid are you?" Fred moved his face closer to her and lifted her up. Their lips connected and she felt him sigh happily before he pulled away. "I meant every single word love. There's no other girl here that can compare to you. Other people may not be able to appreciate what I see in you, but I'll never change my mind.

Hermione blushed and nodded her head. "Me too Fred."

They walked to the great hall for dinner Fred gripping her right hand with his own before looping his arm around her shoulders.

********** REVIEWS FEED THE CREATIVE FIRES!*********

(don't worry it'll get better and better:D)


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: Yeah this is a short one but I have a good reason, I'm actually working on a Bleach/HarryPotter crossover and I'm trying to continue working on a few of my other fics. The other reason is because the last chapter just felt sort of Final to me… It was hard for me to continue on. But I managed to finally and I have a few surprises in store for my readers in the next few chapters. Yes there will be a Christmas and I'm still working out the gifts.. Also let me know if I botched anything. I'm really only working from memory of the books, nothing else. Hmmm what else? Oh yes I'll also be posting up a one-shot centered around our favorite Heroine and Twins. It's just a cute little thing and I'm not planning on having any romance involved in it. Just friendship. Also if anyone is also a fan of bleach I'd love it if you could check out the fic when I post up the first chapter in a few days. It's called back again and I want to make sure I'm not completely botching up anything. But remember it will be my first bleach fic and first crossover. Ideas are welcome and let me know what you wanna see from me in any of my fics. I honestly wouldn't mind some prompts for oneshots… for either Bleach or Harry Potter. After all I'm only a devoted servant to my readers and I want to make sure I keep giving you what you want. On that note I'm really glad my fic hasn't crossed the line from fluff to the land of rainbows and unicorns… Anyway thanks for reading and sorry this is so short. Also updates will be sporadic as I'm finally getting around to releasing a few of my other WIPS so don't expect an update anytime in the next week. Sorry!

Chapter 21

The last few weeks before the winter holidays had been near perfect. She could ignore the girls constantly trying to get at Fred and prove they were better. She knew that Fred chose her and she had faith in him and that's all that mattered. Of course it helped that more than ninety percent of those girls went after George on accident. She smiled at the antics George had pulled. None of the girls expected the antics that he pulled. He would trick them into thinking he was Fred, he would even go as far as escorting them to the great hall. They would walk in on his arm and they would look at her and smile smugly. Then she would turn to Fred and kiss him on the cheek and whisper something silly in his ear. The girls always got confused and George would lead them over to the table and introduce them to Fred and Hermione. She couldn't count how many girls had stormed off in a huff because they were proven the fool.

As great as it had been there was still a few spats and arguments. Fred and George had given Harry something called the Marauders map so he could sneak off to Hogsmeade. She gotten angry and hadn't talked to either boy for a few days. Eventually they came to a compromise and though Hermione was still upset she did agree that Harry needed his freedom. Besides Harry was under his invisibility cloak the entire time and that had made her happy. Who cared if he was in Hogsmeade when no one could even see him. The down side to all of that though was that Harry had learned why Sirius was after him and the relationship they shared. He'd been so angry and determined to catch him. Hermione had calmed him down as best she could.

It was almost Christmas now and Harry was still sullen over his broom. She had wanted to get him a new one but she didn't have the money and she knew her parents would never agree. She had gotten the promised gifts for her roommates and even managed to get enough money for gifts she was going to give to Fred, George and Lee. She had gotten both Harry and Ron simple gifts of candy, the boys were always happy with junk food. Things really hadn't gotten any better on the Ron and Ginny front, but she still thought of Ron as a good friend and made sure to get him some of his favorite snacks. She hoped that Christmas would bring them some peace.

"What are you thinking about, Love?" Fred asked her as he slid into the seat next to her. The Weasleys were staying over at Hogwarts this holiday. Their parents were apparently in Romania visiting Charlie.

"Just the last few weeks. Things had gotten a little hectic but it's nice to know that it'll be a quiet Christmas." She replied while leaning into him.

Fred's arm wrapped around her shoulders and he placed a kiss to her forehead. "Yeah. Here's hoping that Gin and Ron can keep their mouths shut."

"Mmmm" She mumbled and closed her eyes, it was getting late and she was a little tired.

FWFWFWFWFWFW

None of the boys had told Hermione about the incident in their dorm. Fred liked it that way, Hermione didn't need to know some of the things people said about her. She didn't need to hear the lies that seemed to spill forth from the mouths of the naïve and insecure people that ran around Hogwarts. Though none of those people had opened their mouths in front of him, George or Lee since that occasion and when they did they only had good things to say. He let a smirk drift across his face, being with Hermione had been much easier than he anticipated. She was still just as stubborn and the fights they had were always explosive but he loved the kisses he got when he caved to her will. She didn't initiate many kisses and when she did it always made his breath stop.

George and Lee had begun to tease him for becoming such a sap. He couldn't help it though, when you have something that makes you happy, you have to cherish it while you can. Neither Ginny or Ron had said a word to him since that day in the great hall and he honestly didn't care. Ginny used to be so shy and withdrawn but it seems coming to Hogwarts had changed her. Even before the Chamber fiasco he had noticed her getting a little sneakier and a little more vindictive. Apparently Hogwarts did change you and sometimes it wasn't for the better. It was shame too, she had been such a sweet kid. Ron too, sure he had always been a little insecure but it seemed having Harry Potter and Hermione Granger for your best friends was just a little to hard for him to handle. Fred only wished Ron could see himself for who he was not how he thought others perceived him. Ron was intelligent and wicked smart when it came to strategies in chess or on the Quidditch pitch. But Ron had let his insecurities get the better of him and seemingly lost his way. He figured since he had saved Hermione from herself and influence that others seemed to have over her, that it was time to try and help Ron and hopefully Ginny too.

He looked down at Hermione and smiled. Her eyes were closed and her mouth just a little bit parted, he really wanted to kiss her. He looked around the common room and noticed it was mostly empty, the few people there were either engrossed in last minute homework or conversations whispered in corners. He smirked and leaned down placing his mouth over hers. She didn't respond and moved his lips a little bit trying to coax out a reaction. She still wasn't responding.

"What the?" He whispered against her lips and pulled back. He heard a soft mumble and she twitched. She was asleep! "Bugger it all, didn't even get a good night kiss!" He nudged her until she woke. She inhaled sharply and her eyes slid open.

"What Fred?" She asked her voice husky from her short nap. He shivered, merlin did he love the way her voice sounded after she woke up, it did things to him that he could never admit to her. Well at least not right now.

"Give me a kiss and then I let you go back to sleep." He demanded and watched as a sleepy smile lit across her face.

"Alright Fred, come here." He groaned internally at the words and the sound of her voice. She leant towards him and he closed the gap. He kept his lips on hers and moved them slightly, his heart nearly stopped when she moved hers against his own. Her mouth was parted slightly and he kissed her only a few times before he moved back.

"Go back to sleep princess. I'll wake you up in the morning." He whispered and laid them both down on the roomy couch.

"I'm not going back to my dorm?" She mumbled sleepily.

"Not tonight. We'll just sleep here." He whispered back and pulled the blanket off the back of the couch.

"Kay." He looked down at her face and watched as she drifted off to sleep again. He was excited to give her his gift for Christmas. He'd made it himself and he knew she'd be proud. He let his breathing fall to her rhythm and he slowly drifted off to sleep as well.

HGHGHGHGHGHGHG

Hermione jolted awake as she heard a loud voice yelling quite near her ear. "There she is. Time for breakfast princess." She turned to see George standing over her.

"Isn't it Christmas Hols?" She asked and frowned at George's nod. "Then why the bloody hell are you waking me up?"

George looked stunned for only a second before he began to speak. "Well apparently you have quite the mouth when you're tired and it's almost nine. Breakfast will be over soon. Wouldn't want all that work from the Elves to go to waste."

Hermione scowled and moved off of Fred. Her hand pushed into his stomach as she sat up and she smirked at the grunt he let up. "Time to get up Fred. You'll miss your breakfast." She laughed as Fred's eyes popped open.

"Get off me woman! I'm hungry and my body can't wait until lunch for food." He nudged her off and stood up himself. She looked down at their rumpled clothes. They were both still in what could only be considered pajamas but her stomach was growling now and she couldn't bring herself to care.

"What about my hair? If I don't comb it out now it'll be impossible later, then things'll get stuck in it and I'll never get them out." She couldn't help the tired whine in her voice.

Fred had looked surprised at first but his face fell into understanding as she continued. Fred had learned the hard way just how easily things could get stuck in her hair. It had been a few nights ago that he had attempted to braid it only to get both his fingers and comb stuck in her hair. It's taken George almost a half an hour to get him untangled. "I'll comb it out for you while we eat. You'll just have to feed me." Fred smile could only be called devious and she couldn't help but return it.

"Alright Fred, but you'll eat what I give you." She laughed as she walked out of the portrait, she could clearly imagine the look of distaste on Fred's face. That's what he got for trying to be a lech.

*****REVIEW PLEASE****

Any suggestions can be submitted through messages or Reviews. Also remember that my fics are now unbetaed and I'm going to try and find one. My previous beta and I lost touch because FF is evil and decided to hate me. Also it seems she has quite a few people she's working for now and I doubt she needs another one. Also forgive me for botching the last names.. I can never seem to remember which way they go.. Grrr.


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: Hey everyone. I have some bad news. The next chapter will be the end of Hermione's boggart. Don't Fret though! Any scenes that you had wanted to see or moments that you think I missed at all in this mini universe. Just let me know and I'll post a oneshot of it in the new story thread I'm going to put up. I honestly don't know where to go from here and I feel like all the chapters are going to be stagnant. So the Final chapter will have a surprise in it for everyone. I hope you're not all to disappointed.. Besides this story will have a sequel. Taking them into the war. So anything from after Christmas of Third Year until the seventh book is up for Grabs:D So just tell me what you want to see. Once again I'm sorry but I feel like I'm continuing a story I finished a couple chapters ago. Enjoy!

Chapter 22

Christmas had arrived without any further drama. Hermione had seen Fred attempting to talk to Ron the last few days. Ron had been consistent, he would respond but the answers were short and terse. She could only shake her head in disappointment. She hope Christmas would bring him around. She was the only one in the common room this morning and she was currently from a mug of hot chocolate. She was waiting for everyone else to come down, but apparently they still liked to sleep in on Christmas.

She looked up as she heard a thud and looked towards the boys stairs. Fred and George were making their way down the steps. She could just barely spy Ron and Harry behind them. She stood up and greeted them all with hugs. Ron had looked a little stun when she hugged him but she only smiled. When she finally moved towards Fred he leaned down to kiss her and she scrunched up her nose as their lips met.

"Gross Fred you have morning breath." She joked pushing on his arm.

"You love my morning breath. Yours isn't much better either princess." He said with a grin.

"Hey! I brushed my teeth!" She yelped as he scooped her up and spun her around.

When Fred had finally put her down she turned to others and smiled "Happy Christmas!"

"Happy Christmas." They said back to her, their voices flooding together.

She walked over to the tree and began hand out the gifts that she had got for each boy. She watched on the boys greedily opened the gifts. She returned Ron's grin when he looked up from the box of candy that she had bought him. Harry looked just as excited and he stood to hug her.

"I wanted to get you a broom, but I didn't have enough saved up." She whispered.

"It's alright Mione I don't mind." Harry said and sat back down.

"Wicked Granger!" George exclaimed before grabbing the unsuspecting girl up in a tight hug. She'd gotten George a twenty galleon certificate for the apothecary in Diagon.

"Well I figured if you're going to be inventing things you're going to need investors right?" Hermione said to him and wiggled from his grasp.

She turned to Fred and he was sitting there just staring into the box in front of him. She shifted on her feet, maybe she shouldn't have done it?

"Fred?" She asked her voice soft and tentative. He looked up at her and she was relieved to see that he wasn't upset. "Do you like it?"

"Mmmm, could you come with me out in the Hall for a minute Hermione?" Fred asked as he grabbed her hand and began to drag her from the common room.

"Doesn't look like I have a choice." Hermione mumbled.

As soon as the portrait swung shut Fred had her in his arms. He pulled her close and smiled against her neck. "I figured you wouldn't like to have them see me kiss you so I decided against doing it in front of them."

"What do you mean? We've kissed in front of them before." Hermione's voice was soft and hesitant.

"Not like this." Fred mumbled and crushed their mouths together. He immediately began to move his lips against her own and she gasped softly. Their mouths move together, their lips parted. It never deepened past the point of open mouthed kisses and she couldn't help but sigh when Fred would capture her bottom lip between his own.

"Oh." Hermione said quietly when they finally parted. "Well that was nice."

"Nice? That was the best gift of the day." Fred grumbled in her ear.

"Well forgive me but I'm still a bit hazy on what's going on right now. We're not still kissing are we?" She asked him.

Fred only chuckled and placed a kiss to her neck. "No love, we stopped a little bit ago."

"Oh. Then I think my lips are numb." Hermione scowled at him as he laughed.

"Let's get back in there." Fred mumbled and brought them back into the common room.

FWFWFWFWFWFW

He had sat through her opening the presents she had received from her parents, her friends and Lee and George. He was getting anxious for her to open his gift, it wasn't much but he was pretty proud of the result.

"Here you go love." He said handing her his gift. The brilliant smile she gave him sent a thrill through his body. '_still to young Freddie!' _His conscience reminded him.

He watched her pull off the wrapping paper and look at the small wooden box in her hand. She sat and stared at it for a moment and he smiled while taking her hand.

"You have to open it up Hermione." He reminded her and watched as she slowly opened the box. He knew what lay inside. It was locket that he had spent three weeks making. It was a simple oval stone with her initials engraved on the front. She watched as she lifted it out of the box and held it before her eyes. "Open it Hermione." She quickly found the latch and he watched as her eyes began to water. Did he do something wrong? He figured she would appreciate the gesture. He was proven correct when she lunged at him and pulled him into a hug.

"Thank you so much Fred!" She whispered in his ear. "It's really lovely."

"Your welcome, my little bird." He said with a relieved laugh.

"Watch it Fred." She said as she moved away. He watched as she stood up and gave everyone else a hug. He really had found the perfect girl, now he just had to make sure he didn't screw it all up.

"What you guys say we go down for breakfast?" George asked as he stood up. There was a murmur of agreement before the others moved toward the portrait. Fred stayed behind and grabbed the gift Hermione had gotten him. He pulled out the sweater that was obviously knitted by someone with experience. On the front was a large yellow H. He looked at it with a found smile before pulling it over his head. He reached his hand back in and pulled out the multicolored scarf that laid at the bottom of the box. It had obviously been made by someone with very little experience at knitting. He had been so happy seeing these things. She had replaced his sweater with one made for him, the H on the front an obvious mark of who he was with. The scarf though had been what made him happiest. A lot of girls would have gotten the standard pranking items and candy for him. But the fact that she had probably spent just as long on this scarf as he did on his own gift had made him quite giddy. Throw in the fact that she had 'invested' in him and George. Well the girl deserved a kiss and it wasn't one he had wanted to share. He raced outside of the portrait in a bid to catch up to the others, it seemed even Hermione's stomach had overruled waiting for him this morning.

****The decision to finally end this story is something that I've been thinking about for the last few days. And like I said their Journey doesn't end here and I will be writing a sequel once I get it all outlined and stuff. But yeah hopefully no one hates me. Let me know what you want to see because if no one tells me than I won't be able to write anything for this until I get the sequel up! I just can't stand writing the same things over and over again. So the next chapter is going to be the last one where everything is resolved.


	23. Chapter 23

A/N: Enjoy!!!!

Chapter 23

Hermione made her way down the hall her face was determined and she was flanked by all of her friends. Christmas had brought all back together just like she had hoped. Ron and Harry stood by her left while Fred and George were on her right. Fred's fingers were twined with her own and they were headed towards Professor Lupin's room. Hermione was pretty sure he still had one of the boggarts from class that day and she was determined to face it again. She felt as if she had grown up since that day in September. She would face the boggart one last time to prove that she had.

When they reached the door to the Defense room Fred pulled her closer. "Are you sure about this Princess?" He asked her, dropping his voice low enough so only she could hear.

She smiled up at him and nodded. Harry was opening the door and she walked inside. "Professor?" She called to the empty room. "Are you in here?"

She heard a crash and looked up as the door to Lupin's office swung open. "Miss Granger? Is there anything I can help you with?" He asked as he walked down the steps.

"Actually I wanted to face the Boggart one last time." She told him "I know you've kept one on hand to teach Harry the Patronus charm and I was hoping that I could use it."

Lupin looked pensive for a moment before he nodded his head. "Are you sure about this Hermione?" He asked.

"Yes Professor." Lupin smiled and moved back to his office. He came back out the door with a trunk floating behind him.

"Now everyone else stand back. Hermione come forward and stand just there." He directed her. "Are you ready?"

She stood in the middle of the room as Lupin came forward and lowered the trunk to the ground. Looking up she glanced at her professor and nodded her head. Lupin nodded back and flicked his wand. The trunk flew open with a crash and smoke rose up. Hermione stood there, nervous to see what form the boggart would take. It shifted again and again until it began to take shape. Became tall, with a witch's hat and soon a face appeared, stern and reproving. In it's hand was scroll of parchment.

"Miss Granger! You have failed every last one of your exams! How dare you come to this testing without preparation!" The thing shrieked, a Scottish brogue thick in it's throat. "It is the finally decision of the headmaster and the governers of this school, that you will be expelled!"

She stood there, staring at the shape of her favorite professor. A part of her watched on shocked, what she was seeing now was really just a tamer version of her original boggart. What was she still insecure about? Hermione couldn't imagine what sort of failure she was afraid of but she knew that this was the first hurdle to confronting it and moving on.

She glanced to the side, everyone was watching her. Confusion played across their faces, she hadn't moved and she knew they wanted to know why. She gave them a smile and turned back to the boggart who was still shrieking away.

"- Listen to me young lady! You're a disgrace! A disgrace to witches and wizards everywhere! You don't deserve your magic!"

Those words stung, Hermione could easily admit she visibly flinched as those words hit home. But it didn't matter she'd prove them all wrong in the end. She squared her shoulders and closed her eyes. Breathing deeply she thought of all her friends and the confidence she had gained in these few short months. Exhaling slowly she looked at the boggart and raised her wand. "Why don't you shut up!" She growled.

"Well I ne-!" The thing shrieked.

"Ridikulus!" She called out. A zipper appeared and firmly closed the things mouth, but it didn't end there. Zippers appeared everywhere, soon the arms were pinned and then the legs. They closed the sleeves and bottom of the robe. It went on until the boggart was wriggling on the floor and it howled behind the zipper when the first laugh sounded. Again and again the laughter came, increasing and getting louder until with a pop it disappeared.

When the laughter ended Hermione was scooped up into Fred's arms and he pressed their lips together in a kiss. She could barely breath when it ended and her lips were tingling with pleasure. "Well done." Fred mumbled into her hair and twirled her in his arms. When he released her she was hugged firmly by everyone and her cheeks were kissed repeatedly. Finally she landed in front of Lupin and he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You did very well Miss Gran- Hermione. Really well." Hermione smiled and threw her arms around the professor and hugged him. Lupin's face was flaming as she looked up at him.

"Thank you professor. I'm sorry." She whispered quietly and ignored his confusion. Lupin was a good man, she could tell. No matter what he was, that didn't make him a monster. As she pulled away and glanced at her friends she took in the proud smiles and the love that radiated from them. She said her goodbyes to Lupin and they left to head to dinner . The last thing she thought of as she tucked into her food, glancing at the high table, was she really did need to tell McGonagall about that broom.

Finite

A/N: I wanted to go out with a bang and I think I've achieved that. This chapter took a bit to write, I wanted it to be as perfect as possible as far as the ending and story goes. But I have a special request, this story was a pet project of mine for about a year. I know you must be surprised I only started posting in july, but I had been planning the plot and how I wanted the story to feel since about January of last year. It started as just a note in my ideas for stories which read: Hermione's Boggart is the twins. That was it and I took it from there. It became this and I pretty proud of the results. This is my first real stab at writing fan fiction. Well fiction in general really. I do have a special request and I'm hoping to achieve my goal but I know sometimes it just won't happen. I wrote this story for myself at first and soon I began writing it for the fans, and now I would really love to see all the people who never reviewed, reviewed all the time and reviewed every now and again to review this final chapter. It's my way of celebrating the end to my first piece of fan fiction. I know some of my alerters aren't big reviewers and honestly that's okay I really really don't mind at all if you can't find it in yourself to review because you snaky or because you can't find anything to say. I just want this story to go out with a bang! THAT is my goal.

*******REVIEW PLEASE AND I'LL SEE YOU IN THE SEQUEL(or some of my other stories I'll hopefully release soon)*********


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